


Avatar: Sun & Moon

by Winner_of_the_disability_bingo



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Blue Spirit Zuko (Avatar), M/M, Moon Spirit Sokka (Avatar), Mute Zuko (Avatar), Not Beta Read, Spirit Zuko (Avatar), because i am a fool
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29553156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winner_of_the_disability_bingo/pseuds/Winner_of_the_disability_bingo
Summary: Since the beginning of time. Since before humans were even a thought in the Spirits’ minds, two Spirits have been in love.After nearly a hundred years of war, these spirits decided to end it. They possessed the bodies of two children, but unable to remember their heritage, and their love. Coincidentally, these two happen to be on opposite sides of the war.Zukka Spirit AU basically(Yes the title is a reference to Pokemon)
Relationships: Azula & Mai & Ty Lee & Zuko, Jet & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & The Gaang (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 80
Collections: Zukka Big Bang





	1. Prologue

Since the beginning of time. Since before humans were even a thought in the Spirits’ minds, two Spirits have been in love.

They loved each other long before there was even a word for love. They loved each other before any other Spirit learnt how. They will love each other for longer than forever. They will love each other more than any creature can comprehend. 

They bring about balance in the world. They decide the hours in a day. They turn the world from day to night. They control the changing of seasons. Even the weather is theirs to command. Without them, the world would fall into imbalance.

They have many names. Lua and Sol. Selene and Helios. Dahl and Taeyangt. Chandra and Surya. Moon and Sun. 

They are the spirits of love and destiny. Once other creatures began to love, they blessed the time between day and night. The sunrise and sunset are the most romantic times, for they are the only times Chandra and Surya are permitted to touch one another. They say that if you and your partner kiss at exactly the middle point between day and night, your relationship shall be blessed, and you shall be together for the rest of your lives. Countless artists have tried to capture the beauty of the Sun and Moon coming together to pass the world to the other, but none have come close to the true majesty of their love.

Chandra loved those that called themselves humans. Not like it loved Surya. This love was more familial, like a parent watching over their child. It guided them. Cleared the skies at night so they could map the stars. Gave them water and shade. Created waves for their boats to ride. Lit up the darkness in the night, protecting them.

Surya was not particularly fond of those that called themselves humans. But it loved Chandra, and Chandra loved them. For Chandra, it warmed them. Gave them a bright blue sky to look up to. Gave them fire and food. Created wind for their boats to ride. Warmed their bodies, protecting them.

The humans praised Chandra for the water and the waves, but used its gifts to harm each other. The humans drowned and starved and trapped each other using what Chandra had given them. They also praised Surya for fire and food, but used its gifts to harm each other as well. The humans burned and bruised and broke each other using what Surya had given them.

This made Surya angry at the creatures Chandra held so dear, and it took out its anger on the humans.

In those days, Surya gained many new abilities. It created never-dying wildfires, to destroy the homes of the humans that had misused its gifts. When it was done, there was nothing but ash. Remains of those fires can be found in volcanoes, where Surya’s never-dying fire lies in wait. The humans that would later become the Fire-Nation cultivated the land that Surya burnt and prayed over the volcanos, and created farms from the ashes of what it had done. Surya’s child, Agni, later became their guardian deity.

Then, it took warmth away. Winter was Chandra’s season, but Surya took warmth from the world. Remains of that cold can be found in the forests and swamps, where the melted ice fed the ground and allowed sprouts to grow.

When the humans begged and prayed, it did nothing, for Surya’s anger was too great. It replaced the winter with a summer that even Chandra could not cool. It heated the world until the ocean boiled and the trees turned to sand. Remains of that heat can be found in the deserts, where even the dirt and the seeds turned to sand, leaving nothing to grow. 

Surya’s roars of anger were the first earthquakes. Its stomps split the ground, separating the lands. Its residual anger burns so brightly that even glancing at it can blind those who are not careful.

When Chandra learned of what the humans had done with their gifts, it shared its love’s anger. Chandra was smarter, however, and used its new abilities wisely.

First, it confined an eternal winter to the poles, where the humans would learn to appreciate Surya’s gifts. The humans that would later become the Northern and Southern Water-Tribes were the first to learn their lesson, and learnt to live in harmony with nature. Chandra’s children, Tui and La, became their guardian deity.

Then, it took the stars away. Without a guide, the humans became lost, dying at sea. Eventually, Chandra decided the humans had learnt their lesson, and returned the stars, at a price. When you are surrounded by light, the stars will disappear, Chandra’s reminder of what will happen if humans are to ever misuse their gifts again. 

Chandra's tears of betrayal created storms. Its stomps created great waves that flooded and destroyed the land, creating lakes and rivers. Its residual sorrow glows so brightly that its light can be seen even in a clouded night.

When Chandra and Surya share their anger, the entire world feels it. Surya’s roars become thunder. Chandra’s tears become rain. When they try to touch, to hold each other in a time when it’s not permitted, lightning strikes.

-

There is a legend. An ancient tale told in hushed whispers at those times that the Great Loves touch. One that once bonded the Fire-Nation and Water-Tribes together, a long time ago. One that is older than the Four Nations. Older than the Avatar Spirit.

As the legend goes, during a time of great imbalance in the world, in a time of war or sickness or disaster, Chandra and Surya shall possess the bodies of two humans. Those humans will be destined to meet, and to help Raava (later, the Avatar) bring balance to the world.

Suryai will become a human of the Fire-Nation. Chandra will become a human of the Water-Tribes. Those humans will fall in love, just as Surya and Tui-la did, millennia ago. They will bring balance to the two Nations. Then, to all four Nations.

It had happened before. Only three times in the hundreds of thousands of years this legend has existed. Each time, they bring balance to the world, and each time, they are forgotten by history.

The people of the Fire-Nation had long forgotten the legend. The people of the Water-Tribes remembered. They remembered, and when the Fire-Nation attacked, they prayed for a saviour.

-

Almost 100 years after the war began, almost 100 years after the world fell into imbalance, the son of the Fire-Prince was born. He was born at night, so that Chandra could watch over the blessed incarnation of its love.

Those around him believed that being born at midnight was bad luck, and that the boy was cursed. Chandra almost wanted to go down there itself, and tell the humans that the opposite was true. It knew not to interfere, though.

The boy was not like any other. His hair shone a sparkling red that faded to white at the ends. It was obvious he was Spirit-Blessed, but the Fire-Nation no longer cared for their ties to the spirits. There was no spark of fire in his eye, so the Fire-Lord did not care for him either. However, instead of a spark in the boy’s eyes, there was a wildfire in his heart.

Chandra felt sympathy for Surya’s incarnation. The boy would never be treated with the respect and kindness he deserved. That any human deserved. As a precaution, it swore that no matter how deep the water, Prince Zuko, son of Prince Ozai, would never drown. Nor would he ever find himself in a place where the cold is too great.

-

Less than a year after the birth of Surya’s incarnation, a boy was born in the South Pole, at midday. The speck of Surya that remained in the sky carefully watched over the birth of Chandra’s blessed incarnation. The boy was strong, and was certain to live a long time.

Those of the Southern Water-Tribe celebrated the birth of the Chief’s eldest child. They saw his sparkling blue hair, fading to white at the ends, and celebrated, for their saviour had arrived. At the same time, they swore not to tell the child what his future held. Swore to protect him from the world. Swore not to tell him of the ocean in his heart.

Surya was glad that these humans would treat Chandra’s incarnation better than its own. As a precaution though, it swore that no matter how strong the flame, Sokka, son of Hakoda and Chief Kya, would not burn. Nor would he ever find himself in a place where the heat is too great.


	2. Ages 1-5

Zuko was a special child. A child unlike any other. Unfortunately, the Fire-Lord did not see this.

No one spoke about the way his eyes glowed gold in the dark. No one spoke about the way his hair flowed like the wind. No one spoke about when he stared right into the sun and was not blinded. No one else spoke about how he could hold his breath for hours without struggling.

Like any other child, he started walking at about one year old. Unlike other children, he learned to run immediately after. He ran like he was flying, like the ground wouldn’t be able to contain him. When he jumped, he cleared his entire cot. It scared his mother half-to-death the first time he did that.

Like almost any other child, his first word was ‘mama’. Unlike other children, when he spoke, sparks flew from his mouth instead of spit. When he hit, he left large bruises. When he cried, his tears burned his carers’ skin.

-

Sokka was a special child. A child unlike any other. Every adult in the village knew it and celebrated it. Celebrated him.

Every adult knew the way his eyes glowed blue in the dark. Every adult knew the way his hair moved like waves on the ocean. Every adult knew that he stared at the moon like he knew every crevice, every crater, like it was home. Every adult knew that when he accidentally fell into the fires they set up, nothing burned but his clothes. His parents nearly had heart attacks the first time it happened.

Like any other child, he started walking at one about a year old. Unlike other children, when he picked a spot to stay, he stayed there, and when the snow was blown away, it was revealed that the earth had swallowed his feet. He was as stiff and as heavy as a boulder when he wanted to be. When he jumped, the ground shook as he landed. They had to rebuild several huts after his first tantrum.

Like almost any other child, his first word was ‘papa’. Unlike other children, he learnt just about every other word within a few months. Unlike other children, when he spoke, snowflakes flew from his mouth instead of spit. When he hit, pebbles flew with his hands. When he cried, his tears froze the clothes of the people they landed on.

-

At two years old, Zuko’s caregivers still had not told Fire-Lord Azulon or Fire-Prince Ozai of the flames in his breath. Of the wind that blew only around him. If those men had not seen the blessing within him, they did not deserve to know.

Like any other child, he spoke, walked, and demanded attention from his mother. Unlike other children, his words were growled, as if a flame were trying to speak, or flowing, as if his voice belonged to the wind. Unlike other children, he walked with the birds along the rooftops, the wind keeping him from falling. Unlike other children, when he wanted attention, the entire room heated up until those inside felt as if they were inside the heart of a volcano.

When his sister was born, those in the room watched as he held her for the first time. They saw the moment a streak of red grew in her hair. They listened as the child held her closely, whispering a vow of protection.

-

At two years old, Sokka was the prize of the Southern Water-Tribe.

Like any other child, he spoke, walked, and demanded attention from his parents. Unlike other children, his words flowed from his mouth, as if his voice were a wave, or were grated, as if the stones themselves spoke though him. Unlike other children, he walked above the fish, on the surface of the water, and when he ran to the shore, the waves parted for him. Unlike other children, when he wanted attention, the entire hut cooled down until those inside felt as if they were in the middle of a blizzard.

When his sister was born, those in the room watched as he held her for the first time. They saw the moment a streak of blue grew in her hair. They listened as the child held her closely, whispering a vow of protection.

-

At three years old, Prince Ozai visited his son for the first time. Everyone in the royal family had begun showing signs of Bending between the ages three and five. There was still no spark in Zuko’s eye, so Ozai left. Zuko’s caregivers did not tell him that the boy was made of fire.

Like any other child, he played with his little sister. Unlike other children, he made sparks fly above her head, shaping them into animals. Sometimes the animals were things he had seen or heard of, creatures from the stories Ursa would tell. Other times, the animals were things his caregivers had never heard of, anthropomorphic lemurs, monkeys with no other animal splice, massive spiders with a dog’s teeth, almost-dragon-almost-birds, almost-dragon-almost-eels, rabbits with wings for ears, hedgehog-like creatures, and lions with monkey faces.

Azula loved the creatures he created. She spent hours just watching him. Their caregivers knew it couldn’t stay that way.

-

At three years old, Kya and Hakoda shared Kya’s Chief duties, leaving Sokka to spend most of his time with Bato.

Like any other child, he played with his little sister. Unlike other children, he made snowflakes fly above her head, shaping them into animals. Usually, those animals were ones he had seen or heard of, creatures from the stories the village told around the fire. Other times, the animals were things the villagers had never heard of, a centipede with an ever-changing human face, root-like creatures with leaves covering their heads, wasps with glowing wings, a tree-like creature surrounded by faces, creatures made of carved rock, and two carpet-like creatures, with striped patterns and one eye.

Katara loved the creatures he created. She spent hours just watching him. Their parents wished it could stay that way.

-

At four years old, Zuko’s abilities began to taper off. His hair only sparkled in direct sunlight and his eyes only glowed in near-pitch-black. He stopped creating sparks when he spoke and he could no longer jump onto the roof. The last fact relieved his caregivers.

He had begun his lessons with his tutors. He came back with his bright red hair limp and the wind only slightly swirling around his feet. He began using his supernatural physical abilities to avoid hits or to hide from tutors he thought were too harsh, instead of for the games he used to play.

The servants knew that the cruel treatment from Zuko’s tutors were the reason for the weakening of his powers. He was too exhausted after lessons to shape the sparks he created. He was too scared of getting in trouble to even stir the wind around him.

Azula stayed with him. She was still too young to understand what was going on, but she knew her brother was sad. They would lie in bed together all night.

-

At four years old, Sokka’s abilities began to taper off. His bright blue hair dulled, but only slightly and his eyes glowed less. He stopped creating snowflakes when he spoke and he no longer shook the earth when he landed from a jump. The villagers were relieved that they would no longer have to keep rebuilding huts every time Sokka got upset.

He insisted on training with the village men. Going on hunting and fishing trips. He came back with his hair limp but sparkling and rocks only just shaking when he stepped. He began using his supernatural abilities to help hunt or fish with the other warriors, instead of the games he used to play.

The village knew that his insistence of joining the men was the reason for the weakening of his powers. Children blessed by the spirits forget how to use their affinities as they grow, because they become further away from the spirit realm and a more solid part of the mortal realm. Behaving like an adult accelerated that. One day, his powers would return, when it was time to fulfil his destiny.

Katara didn’t like being separated from him. She pouted all day until he came back and she could play with his hair.

-

At five years old, Zuko finally Fire-Bended for the first time. Ozai paid no attention to it, Azula had started Bending the month before.

When she learnt how, the first person she had run to was Zuko. He watched as she lit a small flame in her palm. He smiled, and hoped the tutors didn’t treat her as badly as they treated him.

Zuko’s bending was weak, something no one who had met him as a toddler expected. One of the older carers realised that it was because traditional Fire-Bending was about structure and force, more advanced sets required rage and hatred. What Zuko had been doing before was instinct, it was wild and free and happy, like a true flame. He would never flourish in the Palace, he would never flourish in the Fire-Nation.

Zuko’s cousin, Lu-Ten, seemed to understand. He took the other boy and his sister into the gardens to play, to give the boy a sense of freedom, where Zuko showed that he still had the skills he once did, the strength, the speed and the stealth, the ability to make flames dance and wind blow. His abilities were greater than his sister, who loved watching him fly. They were just buried underneath.

-

At five years old, Sokka showed no sign of being a Bender. Katara, on the other hand, moved the water with every righteous swing of her angry three-year-old arms.

The village was surprised, but chose not to hold it against Sokka. The boy was just as special as his sister, even if he no longer had the powers he did when he was her age. As children, they both deserved to be treated equally no matter what their circumstances. They also didn’t forget that he was blessed by the Spirits, not that he knew it.

Sometimes, Bato would reserve an afternoon just for Sokka while Kanna took care of Katara and the Chiefs helped the village. He took the boy out onto the water to fish, but allowed him to still act like a child, where Sokka showed that he still had the skills he once had, the strength, the flow in his movements and the patience of the tide, the ability to make the water bow and the earth shake. His abilities were greater than his sister, who had no idea they even existed. They were just buried underneath.


	3. Ages 6-12

Zuko was just like any other child. Unfortunately, that was the issue. Azula excelled in everything. Zuko was average at best. The royal family did not care for him. The only ones who knew he was special were no longer needed. He was too old for carers, Iroh and Lu-Ten had to join the war effort, and Ursa was only allowed to see him during specific times. Azula tried to spend as much time with him as she could, but her tutors or Ozai would drag her away.

Zuko would never know how extraordinary he really was.

-

Sokka was just like any other child. It was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Katara was better than he was at most physical activities, which he hated. Still, his family loved him like any other child. Everyone knew that he was special, but there was no need to tell him, to treat him any differently. His sheer intelligence was enough.

Sokka would never know how extraordinary he really was.

-

At six years old, Zuko played, learned, and wasn’t a huge fan of his little sister, just like any other child.

Unlike other children, his games never left the gardens. Never lasted longer than a few minutes. They were full of creatures and situations the servants couldn’t imagine. They took place in days that were long gone. Days before humanity existed. Days where the Spirits populated the world.

Unlike other children, when he got something wrong in his lessons, the tutors burned him. At first, they tried to be careful not to scar, but his skin was resistant to the heat. Eventually, the tutors burned him with all of their strength, leaving burns in the shapes of hands and fingers all over his arms and neck. They faded, but left pink-white scars.

Unlike other children, his sister was almost never around. Her lessons were several levels above his own, so their different schedules separated them. She excelled under her tutors’ methods. She left him behind. The tutors constantly told him he would never match up to her. He wasn’t sure if Azula believed them.

-

At six years old, Sokka played, learned, and wasn’t a huge fan of his little sister, just like any other child.

Unlike other children, his games were complicated and involved ideas the adults had never thought of. They took place in a time far away, where humanity has evolved and improved their technology. Where people and Spirits lived together.

Unlike other children he learned things almost instantly. They only needed to teach him something once, or let him practice a couple of times. Concepts the adults had a hard time grasping came easily to him.

Unlike other children, he and Katara would disappear for hours only to come back soaking wet, neither harmed by the ice on their clothes and skin. When they fought, both ended up covered in snow. It was hard to get the snowflakes out of Sokka’s hair afterwards, since they were the same colour as the sparkles and the tips.

-

At seven years old, Zuko explored, challenged authority, and found interests, just like any other child.

Unlike other children, his exploration was of the entire palace, full of corridors and countless rooms and gardens you couldn’t see the end of. He raced all over the place, finding new hiding spots every time he left his room. When he was in the middle of one of the endless gardens, when he felt free, those passing by saw the way his hair sparkled in the sun.

Unlike other children, when he showed attitude towards others, they punished him harshly. They hit, burned, and locked him up. They rewarded any sign of anything less than the utmost respect with burning pain. They trapped him in his room, away from the sun. That did more harm than anyone knew.

Unlike other children, his interests were not something his father supported. They were not Fire-Bending, or his studies. They were theatre and sword-work. His mother read play scripts to him and helped him act them out. She showed him to Piandao, who took him on as an apprentice in secret.

-

At seven years old, Sokka explored, challenged authority, and found interests, just like any other child.

Unlike other children, his exploration spanned the entire South Pole. Hundreds of miles of ice and snow and water, and he wanted to see all of it. All of it was his, technically, considering his mother was the Chief of the entire South Pole. He memorised every fox-rabbit hole. Every polar-dog cave. Every river and every glacier. Every snowflake that fell.

Unlike other children, his challenges were well thought out and logical. They stopped the adults and made them think. He was usually right, and the adults would often correct their behaviour when Sokka found something wrong with it.

Unlike other children, his interests consisted of making machines out of spare bones and rock. Of finding ways to improve everything they had. It worked too. Because of him, they could build an entire city under the ground if they needed to. Their huts were large and the air inside was always just the right temperature. Even the way they dressed was improved.

-

At eight years old, Zuko made friends, was easily embarrassed, and wanted to voice his opinion, just like any other child.

Unlike other children, his friends consisted of his sister and two of the daughters of nearby nobles. Mai shared his love of knives, and Tai-Lee shared his love of physical activity and gymnastics. However, they were really Azula’s friends, and Azula decided when they got to spend time together. Luckily, his sister was willing to share.

Unlike other children, he was shamed for every mistake he made, even if it was inconsequential. When he got something right, he was not praised. He was expected to do everything perfectly, and was harshly punished when he didn’t.

Unlike other children, those around him refused to hear his opinion. His existence wasn’t of any consequence. He wasn’t Crown-Prince and his sister was his superior in every way that mattered. He didn’t matter to them.

-

At eight years old, Sokka made friends, was easily embarrassed, and wanted to voice his opinion, just like any other child.

Unlike other children, his friends consisted of his sister and the Tribe’s polar-dogs. There was no one else his age. The Tribe’s people had been trying to have children, but so far, they had only managed a few.

Unlike other children, he rarely did anything to garner embarrassment. He was the smartest person in the South Pole. A few people joked that he was probably the smartest person in the world. When he tried something new, he almost never failed.

Unlike other children, his opinion was one of the best in the Tribe. When he spoke, they listened. His ideas always improved the lives of the villagers. He was far wiser than he even believed.

-

At nine years old, Zuko was disrespectful, eager to take risks, and influenced by others, just like any other child.

Unlike other children, he was punished for his disrespect. A single word out of line and they added to the map of scars on his arms and neck. After discovering his love of knives and swords, a few had switched to cutting him when he did something they didn’t like. Those injuries took longer to heal, and scarred more easily.

Unlike other children, the royal family did not care if he got hurt. If he climbed to the top of the tallest tree in the palace, no one but his mother would be there to catch him. The servants weren’t allowed to touch him, if they were caught near him, both parties would be punished, and Zuko didn’t like it when people got hurt, especially if it was because of him. Azula snuck into his room sometimes when he was hurt and left extra food next to his bed.

Unlike other children, the only people to influence him hated him. Mother tried, but everyone proved that Father’s opinion mattered more. Father despised his very existence, and everyone else followed his example. The servants gave him extra food when he was upset or told him stories when he was bored. He was grateful, but it wasn’t enough. If everyone who mattered hated him, then maybe he deserved to be hated. Azula didn’t like to show what she was feeling, but Zuko could tell she didn’t know whether to choose between him and Father. In the end, she chose Father.

-

At nine years old, Sokka was disrespectful, eager to take risks, and influenced by others, just like any other child.

Unlike other children, his disrespect was handled with thought. When he snarked, he was reprimanded, but when he pointed out a genuine flaw, it was taken into consideration. Sokka was part of the discussions with the adults, but only when he wanted to be.

Unlike other children, he always had people who both encouraged him and helped him stay safe. When he wanted to swim to the bottom of the ocean, the Tribe’s best swimmers were with him. When he wanted to climb over every snow hill, the entire Tribe turned it into a game. Katara usually won, Sokka was confident it was because she used her Bending to cheat.

Unlike other children, he had an entire village try to be good role models for him. He was blessed by the Spirits –not that he knew it- and that meant he needed to be treated with respect. As a child, constantly learning about the world around him, he would take into account everything he saw and heard. For both him and Katara, the Tribe did their best to be people the Spirits would be happy with.

-

At ten years old, Zuko thought that maybe the world had collapsed.

Grandfather was dead. They said it was poison, and judging by the way that everyone acted, they knew who did it. No one told Zuko anything.

Lu-ten was dead. Zuko read his cousin's letters over and over again. He hoped that maybe if he read them enough, Lu-Ten would materialise out of them. He knew it was ridiculous, but they hadn’t forbidden him from hoping.

Uncle was missing. Zuko thinks he might know where he was, but not entirely. He was searching for something that was important to Zuko. Something that felt nostalgic and familiar when Zuko thought about it. Maybe he wanted Lu-Ten back too.

He couldn’t find Mother anywhere. Azula laughed in his face every time he asked, looking slightly uncomfortable. Mai refused to answer his questions. Tai-Lee said Azula had forbidden them from saying anything. When he realised she wouldn’t come back, his hair completely lost the sparkle it once had, and the red became pale.

Azula had said Father planned to kill him. At first, Zuko didn’t believe her. As time went on, it seemed more likely. Father hated him. Grandfather said that Father needed to feel Uncle’s pain before thinking about taking his place as Crown-Prince. The only way to do that was to kill his first born. Maybe Mother was gone because Zuko wasn’t.

-

At ten years old, Sokka thought that maybe the world had collapsed.

Mom was dead. The snow had turned black and there was red everywhere and then they were gone, and Katara was sobbing. Sokka didn’t move. He couldn’t. When they brought her body out, when he saw that she really wasn’t going to come back, his hair completely lost the sparkle it once had, and the blue became pale.

Katara hadn’t spoken. No matter what anyone tried, she didn’t speak, she didn’t sleep, she refused to leave Sokka’s side. Sokka couldn’t begin to imagine what she was going through, she had seen it happen. He hoped that, with time, things would get easier for her. For both of them.

Dad was too busy with his Chief duties to pay any attention to his children. Before, he and Mum would share their duties, but now Mum was dead, and Dad had to do everything by himself. The other Tribespeople helped, but it wasn’t enough for him. It wasn’t enough for anyone.

The Fire-Nation destroyed everything. The huts, the storage units, Sokka’s little inventions that he was so proud of when he was younger. All gone. All they could do was hastily set up tents and try to live off the little non-ruined food they had until hunting season came again.

-

At eleven years old, Zuko knew there was something wrong with him. With Mother gone and Father as Fire-Lord, he was much more in the public eye than he used to be. They had varying opinions of him. One thing they all shared was that they hated his hair.

It was unnatural, the red was strange and the way it sparkled when he was worked up was freakish. After a few weeks, Zuko learned to cover his hair. It was better that they wondered why he wore the cloth around his head than were unsettled by his hair.

Father had nodded approvingly when he first appeared with his hair wrapped and unseen. It was the most praise Zuko had ever received from him, so he knew he had finally done the right thing.

-

At eleven years old, Sokka knew that there was something different about him. Dad needed help with his chief duties, and Sokka was determined to do it. The first time he visited the trading docks, people had stared and whispered amongst themselves.

At first, he had thought that it was just because he was a child, but it didn’t take long to realise it was his hair. The unnatural colour and the way it sparkled. The problem was solved when he started covering his hair with the hood of his parka

After a while, it became normal to cover his hair every time he left the village, even if it was just to go out fishing. For his birthday, Gran-Gran and the other village women had worked together to make a scarf specifically for covering his hair.

-

At twelve years old, Zuko was still as much of a disappointment as he used to be. It was just that now, everyone knew it.

He was still sub-par at Fire-Bending. He had been improving, but it wasn’t enough for Father. Azula was still so much better than him. He was still bad at maths and language and geography. The sudden introduction of politics and combat training made his studies much harder.

He still trained with Piandao. That was probably the only comfort he had. Piandao wasn’t like the others. He didn’t look at him as if he were an object, or nothing more than dirt. He looked at Zuko and saw  _ him _ .

Uncle was the same, but Uncle had been different since Lu-Ten’s death. He was quieter, and his hair was greyer. Zuko hoped that he got better soon.

-

At twelve years old, Sokka was still as much of a grouch and a genius as he used to be. It was just that now, he could spread his knowledge to everyone in the South.

The fact that they had a Water-Bender was kept secret, so the Tribe’s pride was that Sokka shared his inventions at the ports. He improved their boats and weapons, then the Tribe sold the improved goods at the trading ports, meaning they could rebuild the village with more ease.

The village itself was still primarily tents and tarps, but with the extra money, came more food and other important materials.

Dad had been growing more tired by the day. Bato and the other warriors tried to help out, but it was obvious that Mum’s death took too much of a toll on him. Sokka hoped he got better soon.


	4. Ages 13-16

At thirteen years old, Zuko experienced the worst day of his life.

Uncle had been improving lately. He was less tired, and spent more time with Zuko. Zuko was glad he finally had the company of someone that didn’t look at him oddly when he let his hair out or question him when he hid it. He encouraged Zuko’s training with Piandao.

The servants had done all of that, but he was trying to stay away from them. The Crown-Prince didn’t have any place with commoners, Father had made that perfectly clear. They understood, and stayed out of his sight.

Recently, Father had been holding more war meetings. As Crown-Prince, it should have been Zuko’s right to join him. He would one day succeed Father (not that anyone was happy about it) and to do that, he needed knowledge on war meetings.

Uncle got him in, for which he was grateful. He swore to do as Uncle had said. To not speak or move. To not do anything to prove he was there. But he had disobeyed. He had disappointed Uncle and angered Father.

He had to fight him. He had been ordered to fight Father. But he didn’t want to. He couldn’t. He was too weak. Here he was. On display, hair out in front of dozens of nobles and officials. He kneeled in front of Father, and when Father reached down, Zuko hoped that maybe, he would cradle his face. That maybe, Zuko’s dishonour would be forgiven. That maybe, he was worth something.

His hand was on Zuko’s face, but it was on fire. It hurt, but not a lot. Fire had never done much. That was why his tutors always hurt him with everything they had. Father was clearly angered by this, he stepped back, not taking his hand off Zuko’s face. He made a motion with his hands. It was quick, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Uncle’s expression change from discomfort to horror, and Azula’s from fake-glee to shock. Then, everything burned white.

-

At thirteen years old, Sokka experienced the second worst day of his life.

First Mum, now Dad was leaving. Unlike Mom, with Dad was the hope that he would come back. Katara was sure he would, but one look at the women of the village told Sokka that they thought otherwise.

It was war; Mum had already died, along with the majority of other members of the once powerful Southern Water-Tribe. Nothing was stopping Dad from dying too. Bato had promised Sokka he would protect him, but what if something happened to Bato.

Sokka was scared. Scared for Dad and the other warriors. Scared the Fire-Nation would attack again, and take Katara this time. Scared of leading the village. As the son of two former Chiefs, and as the only healthy man left, it was his duty to protect everyone.

One day, without warning or explanation, something inside him broke. He wasn’t sure if he was in pain, or if something was just missing from his soul, but everything seemed out of place.

That night, Gran-Gran had spoken to him in the healer’s tent. She had told him about the legend of Chandra and Surya. About two children born in times of imbalance. She told him she believed that he was the child of Chandra and that he had another half somewhere in the world. Surya’s incarnation.

Someone whose hair would be as strange as his. Someone who would be capable of incredible physical feats where Sokka was capable of mental ones. Someone who would complete him.

The break had come from his other half. Something had happened to them. Something horrible. Something that caused them to become as imbalanced as the world around them. If Sokka ever found them, they may not respond, they may not even recognise him.

It was likely that the imbalance would bleed into Sokka, and he wouldn’t be able to identify Surya’s incarnation either. No matter how many times they met, spoke, fought, did anything with each other, neither would be able to recognise the other until Surya’s incarnation was balanced.

Sokka had argued that he was smart enough to interpret the feeling in his core. Gran-Gran had said Chandra itself would create a mental block. No matter how hard he thought about it, he wouldn’t know who his other half was.

She told him it would be his destiny to meet the Avatar, and with Surya’s incarnation at his side, they would bring the world to balance. He would know when his destiny would begin, because he would start to regain the abilities he had when he was young. The same abilities as Chandra.

The Avatar was dead, but Gran-Gran reassured him that the Avatar Spirit was more than just a powerful human. It was more than a body. When the time was right, he would fulfil his destiny.

-

At fourteen years old, Zuko had gotten the hang of living on the ocean. He couldn’t see or hear anything on his left side, and he still had difficulty moving his left arm and leg, but he was adjusting.

Sometimes, he stood in front of his mirror and stared. Stared at the bright red hair (Uncle had told him that it used to sparkle, he wondered if it ever would again). Stared at the branches of white curling around his entire body. Stared at where they converged, at the massive burn on the left side of his face, stretching around his skull and down his neck and shoulder.

He could feel the scar on his skull, but it was hidden under his hair, which had grown back within a week of his banishment. No matter how many times he tried to cut it, it kept growing back. The tips rested at the bottom of his shoulder blades, as they had since he was five. He really was a freak.

He was used to people going all out when punishing him, but he never imagined it was possible to Bend lightning. Father had stripped everything from him. His title. His nation. His honour. His ability to Fire-Bend.

He was empty. Empty and broken. So he filled that emptiness with the only thing he could. He filled himself with rage, and with hate. With determination to find the Avatar. With despair, because he could never truly regain what he had lost.

There was something else, too. Something he buried beneath everything else. Hope. Longing. An indescribable feeling. He remembered the feeling; it had been with him his entire life. That feeling was the reason fire had trouble hurting him. The reason his hair was red. The reason he couldn’t drown. The reason snow and ice didn’t bother him.

That feeling pulled him to the South Pole, so he had the crew head north.

-

At fourteen years old, Sokka had gotten the hang of leading the village. Sometimes his left side buzzed. Sometimes an enormous amount of rage and hate filled him. When that happened, he knew it came from Surya’s incarnation.

Sometimes he stared at his reflection in the ice or water and wondered what his other half was like. They were his opposite. They would be pale skinned. They would be strong and limber. They would be an absolute idiot. They could be either a girl or a boy; Sokka knew gender meant nothing to Spirits. Their hair would be red. He wondered if they covered their hair like he did. If their hair floated and sparkled. If it refused to be cut.

When Dad had pronounced him acting chief just before he had left, he had attempted to shave his head in a traditional undercut. The hair had grown back within a week. He had tried several times; the hair grew back faster each time. It rested just below his shoulder blades, and it had been like that since he was five.

His hair was weird, he’d call it freakish if that didn’t make Katara upset. The younger kids braided beads and jewels into his hair. Katara neatened up their work and helped him hide his hair in his scarf whenever they left the village. He wondered if his other half had anyone to help them with their hair.

There was a feeling inside him. Distant, and buried beneath everything else. Hope. Longing. Something indescribable. He knew the feeling. It had been with him his entire life. That reason was the reason ice wasn’t enough to hurt him. The reason his hair was blue. The reason he couldn’t burn. The reason heat didn’t bother him.

That feeling pulled him north, and he wasn’t sure of whether or not to follow it.

-

At fifteen years old, Zuko was just as determined and as focused as he was when Father sent him on his quest.

Uncle and the crew were doubtful, the crew especially were more likely to voice their doubts, but Zuko knew he would succeed. Father wouldn’t have ordered him to do this if there was no chance of prevailing. Father disliked him, yes, but he had been merciful and had given Zuko a chance to regain his honour. Zuko refused to continue disappointing him.

He  _ would _ find the Avatar. He _ would _ regain his honour. He  _ would _ go home. He  _ would _ ignore the pull in his chest, leading him to the South Pole.

People were scared of him. They saw his scar and armour and shied away. It made it easier to bargain. The ship didn’t have much funds in the first place.

The crew didn’t respect him. It was obvious. The logical part of Zuko’s brain (the one that told him finding the Avatar was a fool’s errand. That told him Father just wanted to get rid of him. That told him anger and rage would do nothing but spread imbalance. The one that told him there was something important in the South Pole. The one he determinedly ignored.) said that it was because he was a child, and had no experience captaining a ship. It also said they did care about him. They wouldn’t have stayed with him for so long if they didn’t. The rest of Zuko’s brain was angry, and wanted to punish them for their disrespect.

(He hated that word. Hated the way it made his vision turn white and his muscles clench. Hated that it left him a shaking mess. Hated that it made a part of him scream  _ ‘that shouldn’t have happened! No one deserves that! You were right to defend people’s lives!’ _ Hated that it was proof of his failure.)

The scar also made several things difficult. He had adjusted to the lack of hearing, sight, smell, taste and feeling on his left side. He had adjusted to the way he ached when a storm was coming. He adjusted to the weakness in his arm and leg. Adjusted to the occasional uncontrollable tremors throughout his entire body.

One thing he hadn’t gotten over was his instinctual fear of fire. Of bright lights and loud sounds. He hated them, and they brought the body-tremors. It was a weakness, but it was true. He still couldn’t Fire-Bend with the same strength he used to, even with the rage and the hate filling him.

It didn’t matter, Zuko knew he would find the Avatar.

-

At fifteen years old, Sokka was more tired than he had ever been.

He had no idea how Mom and Dad had been Chiefs to an even bigger Southern Water-Tribe. He was struggling with the tiny one they had right now. Though, Mom and Dad had other adults helping them out. Sokka only had Katara and the village mothers and elders.

He barely had any time to do anything outside his duties, which meant he couldn’t sell ideas at the trading ports, which in turn meant the Tribe was losing money. It also meant that his head was driving him crazy.

Normally, when he was thinking too much, he would make those ideas a reality. He would carve, build, or design. He would create, improve, and fix. With no time, those ideas crowded his head and made him dizzy. The best he could get was building a snow wall and fort around the village. It was the only thing he had the time for, and it fell down often, so he could keep coming back to it to rebuild. It let him do something with his hands. To pretend that he was still a kid just playing in the snow

He would have tried to go through with his old city-under-the-snow idea, but they didn’t have enough time or resources for it. If the Fire-Nation ever came back, nothing but Sokka and his flimsy snow fort would be there to stop them.

He was draining himself just getting up in the morning. Not that he actually got up that often. As the incarnation of Chandra, he didn’t need to sleep as much as other people. He spent most of the nights he was awake on top of the fort, keeping vigil.

Something he  _ had _ noticed was the occasional shake in his limbs. The way his vision would white out, almost without warning. It happened rarely, but it happened. He hoped his other half was okay.

He and Katara were the only able-bodied villagers left. So, as much as he hated it, Katara almost always came with him to the trading docks and on hunting trips. She was determined that she would meet a master Water-Bender on their trips, and that they would teach her Bending.

It didn’t matter, Sokka knew that would never happen.

-

At sixteen years old, Zuko’s life changed, in a way that was impossible to go back from. He went against his better judgment and followed the pull inside him.

For the rest of his life, he would be thankful he did.

-

At sixteen years old, Sokka’s life changed, in a way that was impossible to go back from. He went against his better judgment and agreed to let Katara go fishing with him in the choppier waters.

For the rest of his life, he would be thankful that he did.


	5. Boy in the Iceberg

Every time Sokka let Katara go fishing with him, he ended up soaking wet. One of these days, karma was going to get her back for it. For now, he would settle for mocking her.

Before he could, the boat lurched forward, caught in a current. Sokka grabbed a paddle, seeing Katara do the same out of the corner of his eye. They paddled through the current, somehow avoiding capsizing. 

Sokka felt something in his instincts act up. He grabbed Katara and threw the two of them onto the ice a second before their boat split open. The two watched as the few fish they had managed to catch floated on the top of the water before sinking being eaten by slightly large fish.

Great.

Might as well fill the time. What would make Katara as angry as possible? Sexism. What was the most sexist thing he could possibly say.

“Leave it to a girl to screw things up.” He braced himself just before the screaming started. Katara threw her arms around in her anger. Behind her, Sokka heard something crack. He leaned around his sister to see an iceberg breaking. 

Katara was breaking it, and she was too angry to listen to him. They were going to die. Her yelling rose, breaking more ice. With one last swing of her arms, the iceberg split in two.

Sokka gripped the ice they were on while Katara attempted to Water-Bend the wave. When she was unsuccessful, she held tightly onto her brother. The wave carried the two of them out into the open water.

When they stopped, they were far away from the river they started in. They had no way to get back, unless the Spirits suddenly decided to bless one of them and give them the power the elders say Sokka used to have. That was unlikely; the elders had said he wouldn’t get his powers back until he met Surya’s incarnation. Or the Avatar, but that wouldn’t happen.

Suddenly, the water beneath them glowed and bubbled. Sokka sensed something beneath the water. Something familiar. Something alive. 

An iceberg burst out of the water, throwing the siblings back. Something stopped them from floating too far away from the ice, and when Sokka opened his eyes, he saw a path of ice connecting their block to the iceberg. The Spirits definitely had something to do with this.

Everything was still, before Sokka noticed a person in the ice. The person opened their eyes and Katara gasped. She grabbed Sokka’s club and jumped across the ice. Sokka didn’t move.

He recognised those eyes. Where did he know those eyes? He racked his brain. Glowing eyes, blue light, ability to survive in an iceberg. The only ones who matched that description were Spirits, but most Spirits couldn’t appear in the human world unless under specific circumstances. 

Only one Spirit could.

Tui and La, had they found the Avatar? 

That was impossible. The Avatar was supposed to be dead. But if there wasn’t an Avatar, then Sokka’s blessing meant nothing. He was destined to meet the Avatar. To find Surya’s incarnation. To bring balance to the world.

While Sokka had been freaking out, Katara had been attacking the iceberg with Sokka’s club. On her fifth strike, the iceberg collapsed in on itself, shooting a massive beam of light into the sky and bringing Sokka out from his thoughts. 

-

Zuko had spent the day at the bow. He had no idea why he decided to travel south. The cold barely affected him, but his crew complained, which was irritating. 

Something inside him fizzed. Suddenly, a bright beam of light shot up in front of him. The sudden white filling his extremely limited vision made him collapse, filling his thoughts with pain and disrespect. 

When he could control his thoughts, and his limbs, he noticed Uncle kneeling on the deck by his side. Several crewmembers were outside, but keeping their distance, the healer, Aisun, looked seconds away from checking him over.

He pushed himself away from Uncle and stood up, ignoring the shake in his legs, and the way the entire crew looked prepared to catch him if he fell again. He focused on the light. There was something familiar about it. In the same way the sun and moon felt like guardians. This light felt like an old friend. He ignored it.

Instead, he turned around, stomped to get Uncle’s attention, and signed.

“Uncle, do you realise what this means?”

“We should stop following sudden bright lights?” 

Zuko growled, smoke rising from his mouth. “No. It means my search is about to come to an end.” He watched as the light died.  “That light came from an incredibly powerful source, it has to be them.” It couldn’t be anything else. 

Behind him, Uncle sighed. 

“Or it could be the celestial lights.” It couldn’t, the lights were blue and green, not white. “We’ve been down this road before, Prince Zuko. I don’t want you getting excited over nothing.” It wasn’t nothing. He knew it. “Please sit. Enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea.”

Zuko growled.

“I don’t need calming tea, I need to capture the Avatar!” He swung his hand to point at where the light had been. At the same time, a strong breeze suddenly came across the ship, whipping in the same direction as Zuko’s arm. Uncle’s eyes widened, but Zuko ignored it. He turned and told one of the assistants to tell the Helmsman to head for the light.

-

With the light came a sudden shake in his limbs. His other half was having another attack. He waited for the tremors to pass. When they did, he stood up and joined Katara on the collapsed iceberg.

The light faded, and the Avatar stood above them. They stared at each other until the Avatar collapsed. Katara ran to them, Sokka close behind. They stopped in front of the fallen boy. Sokka tapped him lightly with the softer end of his club and Katara whacked the club away fiercely. 

The Avatar groaned lightly, opening their eyes. They reached out to Katara.

“I need to ask you something… will you go penguin sledding with me?” 

“Sure, I guess.” Sokka was just about to tell Katara how dangerous agreeing to do something a stranger says is, when the Avatar lifted themselves to their feet in one motion. Their hands didn’t even touch the ice.

The Avatar looked around, confusion clear on their face. 

“What’s going on here?” Sokka was about to ask why he wasn’t dead, but thought better of it. The Avatar was extremely hard to kill, just ice wouldn’t be enough.

A low sound came from within the crater and the Avatar’s face lit up. They jumped over the wall of ice. Sokka and Katara were quick to scramble after them. When he had climbed to the other side, Sokka saw the Avatar hugging a giant furry creature.

“Appa! Wake up boy.” Appa growled again and opened its eyes. it opens its mouth and Sokka is almost afraid it’ll eat the Avatar before Appa licks them gently, lifting the Avatar onto its back.

“What is that thing?”

“This is Appa, he’s my flying bison.”

“And this is Katara, my flying sister.” Katara hit his arm lightly. If that was actually a flying bison, that meant the Avatar in front of him was an Air-Bender. The Air-Benders had died out years ago. Then again, not every Air-Bender was the Avatar.

Suddenly, Appa sneezed. The Avatar ducked out of the way, leaving Sokka covered in mucus. The Avatar giggled as he screamed. Upon hearing that it would wash out, Sokka dove into the water. The temperature caused him to shiver, but it wasn’t too bad, thank Chandra for not being easily affected by the cold.

When he came to the surface, Katara was yelling excitedly.

“You’re an Air-Bender!” 

Sokka sighed, lifting himself from the water.

“Of course. Why did it have to be now of all times?” He ignored the confused looks from the other two. He really was not ready to do what destiny wanted him to do. He was barely ready to lead the Tribe. He looked out over the water and realised there was no way to get back to the village. “And we’re stuck, apparently.”

The Avatar hummed.

“If you want, we can give you a lift.” They Air-Bended onto the bison’s back. Katara ran to them and they lifted her up to join them. Sokka honestly didn’t want to ride on the bison, but it was the safest way back to the village.

He and Katara clung tight to the saddle while the Avatar said some gibberish to the bison. Appa jumped and for a second, Sokka thought he would actually fly. Then he landed in the water and started swimming.

“Wow. That was truly amazing.” The Avatar sent him a slightly irritated look. “What’s your name anyway and are you a boy or a girl? I can’t tell since you’re a kid and you don’t have any hair” 

The Avatar grinned brightly.

“I’m Aang. The Air-Nomads don’t really have gender the same way you probably do, but I generally use he/him pronouns.”

Alright then. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, Sokka could just tell.

-

Zuko had not left the bow since the light appeared. He didn’t want to miss something important. He also wanted to know why the light seemed so familiar. Behind him, Uncle let out an exaggerated yawn.

“I’m going to bed now.” Zuko ignored him. “Yep, a man needs his rest.” He continued to ignore him. ”Prince Zuko, you need to sleep.” He didn’t. He didn’t know why, but he could go over a week without sleeping at all, not that Uncle needed to know that. Or know how he knew that. “Even if you’re right, and the Avatar is alive, you won’t find him. Your father, grandfather and great-grandfather all tried and failed.”

Zuko knew that. He did. But something inside him knew that he would find what he was looking for in the South Pole. He knew the Avatar was there. He knew his fate was there.

He didn’t know how to tell Uncle any of that, so he signed what was in his head, instead of what was in his core.

“Their honour didn’t hinge on finding the Avatar. Mine does. This coward’s hundred years in hiding are over.”

Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day, Zuko could just tell.

-

Sokka had to admit, riding on Appa was much faster than using the canoes. The sun was down and Sokka felt alive under the moon. Katara was clearly tired, but he knew she wouldn’t sleep if he told her to. Aang appeared unaffected by the night, but he had probably spent the last hundred years asleep. They floated in silence until Katara spoke.

“Hey, Aang.” The Avatar spun around in place to face them. Clearly, he trusted the bison to get them where they wanted to go.

“What’s up?”

“I guess I was wondering, your being an Air-Bender and all, if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar.” Aang tensed, and hesitated before answering.

“No. I didn’t know him. I knew people who knew him, but I didn’t. Sorry.” He was obviously lying, even someone who wasn’t Sokka could tell that, but Katara believed him. 

As Katara lay down to sleep, Sokka considered confronting Aang about his lie. Was it even a lie? He did know people who knew him. And you can never really know yourself. It was something to think about.

If Aang didn’t want to tell them who he was, Sokka wouldn’t force him. If he did, he would have to explain how he knew Aang was the Avatar, which he did not want to do. Katara still didn’t know about his true heritage, or his destiny, and, honestly, he wasn’t planning on telling her.

They continued floating through the night. At some point, Aang started getting visibly tired. Sokka watched as he sagged and leaned, the pull on the reins bringing Appa off course. Eventually, he sighed and joined Aang on Appa’s neck.

“How do you fly this thing? Tell me so you can sleep.” Aang seemed surprised that he was still awake, but nodded and explained. When he was done, the two switched places. Aang lay down next to Katara, and Sokka took Appa’s reins.

Now that nothing was happening, Sokka noticed the pull in his core was stronger than usual. Either it was because Aang was here, or it was because Surya’s incarnation was somewhere nearby. 

He honestly hoped it wasn’t the latter. Surya’s incarnation would be from the Fire-Nation, and with one, came a whole fleet. Sokka didn’t want to meet his other half. He never wanted to see his village destroyed again.

-

Zuko looked out at the ocean. Uncle had given up on trying to get him to sleep, and had assigned the crew to take turns checking to see if he had collapsed. 

With nothing to distract him, his control over his core lessened, and he felt the sudden pull. It was the strongest it had ever been. Zuko had never known what that pull was, and had ignored it. Now, he wondered if it was Agni leading him to the Avatar. To his destiny.

-

They reached the village when the sun rose. Aang was still asleep, so Sokka carried him off Appa’s back while Katara talked to the elders. As he passed Gran-Gran, he made eye contact with her and pulled a lock of hair out of his scarf, then tilted his head towards Aang. Her eyes widened and she nodded, breaking away from the group to help him set up a bed inside his and Katara’s tent.

When Aang seemed comfortable enough, Sokka and Gran-Gran left the tent to join Katara and the elders. The others were hesitant to bring a stranger into the village. Especially one from a long-dead Nation.

After seeing Gran-Gran and Sokka’s expressions, they agreed to keep him in the village. The mothers gathered their children and brought them to the village centre while Katara stayed with Aang.

Sokka decided to stay on the outside of the group. If the Fire-Nation was coming, he needed to keep an eye out.

After several minutes, Katara came out, dragging Aang behind her.

“Aang, this is the entire village. Entire village, Aang.” Aang seemed confused at the size of the village and Sokka huffed. It wasn’t their fault, they used to be as big as the Northern Tribe. 

The Avatar bowed, a few of the villagers flinched back at the sudden movement. Sokka couldn’t blame them. Aang looked embarrassed at the reaction. Wow, he really had no idea what was going on.

“Why are they all looking at me like that? Did Appa sneeze on me.” The joke was poor, but it made the villagers realise what they were doing and straighten up. Gran-Gran stepped forward.

“No one has seen an Air-Bender in a hundred years. We all thought they were extinct, until my grandchildren found you.” 

“Extinct?” Aang choked. He must have been frozen since before the Fire-Nation attacked. The air was still tense, so Sokka decided to do the most annoying thing possible. The look on Katara’s face when he did things like that would always make it worth it.

He stomped over to Aang and grabbed his spear, paddle, thing.

“What is this, a weapon?” Aang smiled softly and Bended the piece of wood back into his hand.

“It’s not a weapon. It’s for Air-Bending.” He tapped the end of the wood on the floor, and it opened up into an almost-bird shape. One of the girls loudly exclaimed that it was magic. Aang chuckled. “Not magic. Air-Bending.” As he spoke, he moved air currents around him. “It lets me control the wind around my glider and fly.”

Sokka had to admit, that was awesome. If only he had thought of that. Then again, he probably couldn’t do anything with it, since it required Air-Bending. Unless…

Sokka’s thought was interrupted when Aang disappeared. Following everyone’s gazes, Sokka found Aang flying. They continued to watch until Aang accidentally flew into the watchtower. Sokka screeched indignantly while Katara cackled.

They both rushed to the fallen tower. Katara to help Aang, and Sokka to assess the damage and try to rebuild it. Aang spun his glider around, accidentally causing a large patch of snow to fall on Sokka.

He sighed. Maybe he should just stay under the snow. It wouldn’t start to hurt him for at least several hours. That way he could pretend today was just a normal day.

He stayed under the snow until a couple of the younger boys jumped on him, demanding he convince Aang to play with them.

-

When the sun rose, Zuko began his training with Uncle and the ship’s Soldiers, Naloh and Asuk. 

They went through the same sets every day. He hated that he still couldn’t master them, and he always took that out on Uncle. But he needed to move up. He was going to find the Avatar today, and to do that, he would need to know the more advanced techniques.

At Uncle’s mark, he ran through the set. When he was done, Uncle sighed, frustrated.

“Fire-Bending comes from the breath, not the muscles. The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire.” To demonstrate his point, Uncle made a small burst of flame. 

Zuko knew that. Uncle had told him countless times. But that wasn’t the way he was taught to bend. His tutors said it was about strength. About pushing everything to its limits. Why was Uncle’s way of doing it so different?

Zuko didn’t know, so he huffed and stomped up to Uncle.

“Enough! I’ve been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set, I am more than ready.”  Zuko knew he wasn’t ready, but he didn’t have a choice. Uncle remained steadfast.

“No. You are impatient. You have yet to master your basics. Do it again!” Zuko almost flinched at the sudden change in volume, but stopped himself just in time. He growled and ran the set again. He put as much power into his strikes as he could, keeping his eyes closed against the bright light. 

He had realised early in his banishment that he was half-deaf and nearly completely blind. He could only see light and shadow in his right eye. He adapted and learnt how to sense things based on the heat around him. He could easily fight, and recognise each of his crew members, without having to open his eyes. It made avoiding the body-tremors and the stuck-in-memories much easier.

He stopped when Asuk hissed in pain. He opened his eyes to see the soldier cradling a small burn on his hand. Zuko stopped, pretending it was out of frustration instead of concern, turned to where Uncle had sat down, and growled.

“The sages tell us the Avatar is the last Air-Bender. They must be over a hundred years old by now! They’ve had a century to master the elements. I’ll need more than basic Fire-Bending to defeat him. Teach me the advanced sets!”

Zuko ignored the fact that even if he mastered one element, it meant nothing against four. He ignored that if he couldn’t get the basics down, he’d never manage the advanced sets. He ignored all of it, because if he didn’t, he would begin to doubt his mission. Doubt Father. Zuko wouldn’t disappoint Father again.

-

Sokka stood in front of the village boys. The eldest was just about to turn six. He had tried to teach them how to fight, but had been unsuccessful. 

He sighed. He had a feeling the Fire-Nation was close, and he wouldn’t be able to fight them on his own. Normally he could bribe them by saying that if they trained for a certain amount of time, they would be allowed to play with his hair. However, with Aang hanging around, Sokka didn’t want him to see and ask questions. 

To Katara and the other kids, he was a normal boy with hair that’s a bit different. It was like that since they had been born. It was something normal. To Aang, someone who had likely seen the world and all the hair colours that came with it, his hair would definitely garner curiosity.

Sokka was just about to attempt training them without bribes when Katara ran up to him.

“Have you seen Aang anywhere?” Before Sokka could answer, the kids jumped up and ran to crowd around a patch of orange that suddenly appeared. Katara joined them a second later.

Sokka sighed and watched the kids climb over Appa. Clearly, he would get nothing done today.

He joined the village elders to see if they needed anything. As he walked, he heard Aang shout something about penguins. He watched as Aang and Katara walked into a raft of penguins. The children quickly grew bored without the older kids and ran off to join their mothers.

He sighed and started on helping Gran-Gran skin a few of the animals from the last hunt.

-

Zuko had gone through the advanced sets with Uncle, and then did the basics again. Now, he was standing at the bow next to the telescope. He knew something important was about to happen. 

He closed his eyes and spread his awareness outwards. Uncle was with the cook, Shuzai, down in the kitchen. Lieutenant Jee was in the engine room with the engineers, Luzon and Jan. The helmsman, Saizo, and the navigator, Ezuki, were at the helm. The animal-carer, Mira, was down in the hull with the komodo-rhinos. The cleaner, Roso, was with her. The healer, Aisun, and Asuk were in the medical room, most likely tending to Asuk’s burn. The assistants, Shik and Inusa, were walking through the halls with Naloh. Lin, the third assistant and his current attendant, was standing a few steps behind him.

Something in the air changed and he braced himself just before a large crack came from the sky. After a moment, Lin told him a flare had been fired, and it had come from a clearly abandoned navy ship, one from the beginning of the war.

Lin looked into the telescope and told him she saw a figure dressed in orange carrying someone in blue down the side of the ship. She said the jumps they were making looked impossible. Zuko stretched his awareness as far as it would go, and sensed two figures. One was a Water-Bender, their inner pool splashing in anxiety. The second figure’s core was something he didn’t recognise. Is swirled around itself and through the person’s entire body. It was unlike anything Zuko knew.

It could only belong to an Air-Bender. 

Lin relayed that there was a small village in the direction the figure was heading. Zuko took a moment to suppress the excitement growing inside him before turning to face her.

“Get Uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar, and their hiding place!”


	6. Avatar's Return

When Sokka saw the flare, he knew the rest of the day was going to suck. When he noticed the black speck on the ocean, steadily heading towards the village, he was ready to physically fight Tui and La himself.

When Aang and Katara came over the hill, Sokka stood in front of the village.

“What did you two think you were doing? You just signalled the Fire-Navy! They’ll be on our shores any minute now!” Katara stepped in front of Aang protectively.

“It was an accident!” Aang nodded behind her and opened his mouth to say something. Before he could, Gran-Gran joined Sokka.

“Katara, you shouldn’t have gone on that ship. We could all be in danger.” Sokka realised no one else had seen the ship. They didn’t know that they  _ were _ in danger.

“Don’t blame Katara, I asked her to take me there. It’s my fault.” Aang said earnestly.

Sokka sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. If Aang weren’t somehow tied in with his destiny, he’d be sending the boy away faster than you could say polar-bear-dog.

As it was, the village was in danger and they would need Aang to help fight.

“Aang,” The boy looked up hopefully when Sokka spoke, “come with me.” Aang’s face fell. Sokka ignored Katara’s protests and led Aang to where Appa was napping. She tried to follow, but Gran-Gran put a hand on her shoulder.

Once they were out of hearing range from the rest of the village, Sokka turned to Aang.

“How much do you know about the war?” the boy shuffled his feet nervously.

“Katara told me everything while we were on the ship. I-I’ve been asleep for a hundred years.” Sokka put a hand on Aang’s shoulder in what was hopefully a comforting gesture.

“I know you’re the Avatar.” Aang’s head whipped up to stare at him. “Don’t ask me how I know, because I won’t tell you. A Fire-Nation ship saw the flare. From what I saw, it’ll be here in less than an hour. I need you to help me fight them.” Aang seemed fearful.

“I can’t. I may be the Avatar, but I only know Air-Bending.” Sokka gripped his shoulder tighter.

“That’s fine. Almost no one in the world has ever even seen an Air-Bender, much less fought one.” Aang took a deep breath. After a moment, he nodded.

“I don’t like to fight, but I’ll try to help.” Sokka nodded gratefully and let go, bringing Aang back to the village. Katara ran up to hug the boy once she realised he wouldn’t be sent away.

While Aang told Katara what was happening, Sokka led the villagers into one of the underground hangers he and Dad had managed to make before the men left. It was small, but so was the Tribe.

Once the elders, women and children were safe, Sokka joined Katara and Aang on the surface. He knew before she spoke that she would refuse to join the Tribespeople underground. Instead, she and Aang agreed to keep watch while Sokka changed into his war clothes.

-

When they were ten minutes out, Zuko went downstairs to put his battle armour on. He had to take off his head-coverings to put the helmet on, but it didn’t matter. Everyone in the crew knew what his hair looked like..

Zuko waited in the hull until the ship stopped. He felt it when they rammed into something, most likely ice. The pull in his core had gotten stronger. It was definitely leading him towards the Avatar.

The ship stopped, and the ramp lowered. Zuko walked out, Firebenders at his sides. There were only seven in the crew, other than Uncle and himself, but it would be enough to scare a tiny village of Water-Benders and Non-Benders.

Two steps down the ramp, Zuko sensed the village only had three people outside. The rest were bundled together under the ice. Two of the three in front of him had similar signatures to the people under ground. The third one, the smallest one, felt entirely different.

The last Air-Bender.

He stopped at the bottom of the ramp. The three in front of him felt young. Maybe even younger than him. The Air-Bender was tiny. They couldn’t be older than thirteen.

Zuko narrowed his eyes. He sensed a massive creature hiding behind a building made of ice. Asuk leaned in and told him it was a giant bison. The Avatar was definitely in front of him. The Avatar was also definitely a child.

He ignored the twinge in his chest. Instead focusing on the change in their temperatures as they realised how much trouble they were in. He knew he was scary. He loved it. It made people take him seriously. It gave him the respect he never had as a child.

The largest moved to stand in front of the obviously younger children. Zuko was about to step forward and confront the Avatar when he stopped.

He recognised that person. He had never seen them in his life, but he felt like they knew each other. There was a wrap of cloth over their head, similarly to Zuko’s. The pull in his core became unbelievably strong. It wasn’t leading him to the Avatar. It was leading him to the Water-Tribe child.

Their core was strange too. It felt like a Water-Bender's pool, but at the same time, it was like an Earth-Bender’s rock. That would have only worked if they were a Water-Bender  _ and _ an Earth-Bender. Zuko would say that was impossible, but the Avatar was standing behind the child. Maybe the Avatar Spirit had protectors capable of controlling multiple elements.

Zuko growled, pushing the feeling away. The children flinched back, lowering into what they probably thought were defensive stances. Zuko could spot several holes in their defences, even without being able to properly see them. The only one who seemed to pose a threat was the Avatar.

Naloh stepped forward and spoke for him

“We are here for the Avatar” The three tensed and the Avatar straightened. “Hand them over and we will not harm you.”

The eldest responded to her.

“How will we know you’ll keep your promise? The Fire-Nation is full of scumbags.” He was probably a boy, based on the way he sounded.

Luzon made a sound of agreement. He turned slightly to glare at her. Naloh spoke again.

“Then we’ll just have to take them by force.”

Zuko punched forward, letting out a large burst of fire. The Avatar twirled their staff, dissipating it. Zuko expected this, and lunged forward. The Avatar continued to dodge.

Zuko knew that the Air-Benders used to pride themselves on being non-violent, but the Avatar wasn’t attacking at all. Almost… like he didn’t know how.

He used his signing to ask the fire-benders to distract him. Asuk spoke.

“If you’re an Air-Bender, why are you so young? The Air-Nomads have been dead for a hundred years.” The Avatar froze, giving Zuko the opening to kick their head, knocking them out.

He gave the Avatar to Aisun with the order to put them in the prison room. It was just a spare room, but that didn’t really matter.

Realising the Avatar was being taken away, the boy lunged forward, swinging what looked like a club at Zuko’s head. Zuko dealt with him with one kick. He was careful not to use enough force to hurt the boy, only to knock him away from Zuko and the crew.

When he was sure the boy would stay down, he turned to the other child, who was standing in something vaguely similar to a Water-Bending stance. Naloh was about to speak when Zuko held up his hand.

The Avatar had knocked off his face-plate in the fight, leaving his scar on full display. His hair remained covered, thankfully. He looked where he knew the child’s eyes were. They flinched.

“I’m only here for the Avatar. I have no interest in the people of the Southern Water-Tribe, or the flying bison. However, if you attack me, or my crew, I will be forced to take action.” The child flinched at the sound of his voice, and their eyes flicked between the Water-Tribe boy, Zuko, and the Benders behind him. After a moment, they straightened.

Zuko nodded and moved to go back inside, the Fire-Benders following him. As he passed the Water-Tribe boy, he accidentally looked at him.

Again, he found he couldn’t look away. The boy was close enough that Zuko could almost make out an expression on his face. 

The moment was broken when Jee spoke.

“My Prince, what’s wrong?” He only called Zuko ‘Prince’ when they were upping the intimidation factor, or when he was being snarky. Obviously, He had seen that Zuko was unsettled. His words allowed Zuko to look away from the boy. He growled and stomped inside.

-

Sokka had no idea who that boy was, but he knew he was important. When he had kicked him, something like heat was sent through his body. Around him, the ice shifted, reacting to his confusion.

He shouldn’t have been able to move the snow at all, much less do it unconsciously. His powers had been awakened by something. By Aang and the Fire-Nation boy.

His destiny was going to be happening now apparently.

The boy passed him on his way back into his ship. On the way, he made eye-contact with Sokka.

He couldn’t look away. His face was unlike anything Sokka had seen before. His eyes wer so milky Sokka would have thought he was blind if her weren’t looking right at him. The scar didn’t come from anything Sokka recognised. It completely covered the left half of his face. The scar branched out down his neck and into the back of his head, which the helmet was covering.

Remarkably, he still managed to be rather good-looking.

...Hang on. No. he should  _ not _ be thinking someone from the Fire-Nation is good-looking. His affection was going to be for Surya’s incarnation and Surya’s incarnation only.

That boy was someone important. Sokka just couldn’t figure out how. Gran-Gran had said something about it when he was younger, but no matter how hard Sokka tried, he couldn’t remember what.

Perhaps someone Sokka and Aang had to fight in order to fulfil their destiny. That had to be it.

“My Prince, what’s wrong?” He was the  _ prince _ ? He was definitely important then. If they wanted this war to end, they would need to defeat his father. His scar made it obvious he was powerful. He would be a major opponent.

The prince looked away when the soldier spoke. He growled and stomped inside, the soldiers close behind him.

When the ramp was lifted and the ship was backing up, Katara rushed to Sokka’s side, checking to see if the boy’s kick had done anything.

It hadn’t. Strangely enough. Sokka had the feeling the boy could have hit him a lot harder if he wanted to.

When Sokka was back on his feet, he and Katara entered the underground bunker to relay what had happened to the Tribespeople.

When the story was finished, Katara begged Gran-Gran to let them go after Aang. After a minute of thought, she nodded.

“I know you have always wanted a teacher. Give us time to pack you what you need. I have a feeling you won’t be back for a while.” Katara smiled and hugged Gran-Gran. Sokka, on the other hand, was a bit more hesitant.

“Are you sure? If we leave, there won’t be anyone to protect and provide for the village.” The village boys ran up to crowd around Sokka’s legs, reassuring him that they would protect the village. Gran-Gran assured him that she knew enough about Mum and Dad’s duties as chief to trade and to teach the younger people how to hunt and fish.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was their best option. The women of the village left to gather the materials they would need while Sokka and Katara said their goodbyes and prepared Appa.

-

The Avatar was chained to the wall, still unconscious. Zuko kneeled next to the door, with Lin sitting next to him, and watched them.

Naloh was waiting outside. Aisun had said the Avatar would wake up within a few minutes. She had also said they were definitely a child. There was no illusion. The Avatar was thirteen at the oldest.

The only explanation was that the Avatar had been put in stasis. Zuko had read about that (well, made either Uncle, Asuk, or one of the assistants read to him). When an unawakened Avatar’s life was in danger, they could access the Avatar-State and temporarily gain mastery of all four elements. The Avatar-State could also be used to create a stasis. If the Avatar believed the danger was too much to be solved by Bending, they could put themselves in a state of unconsciousness. The only problem with that was that they couldn’t bring themselves out of stasis.

The Avatar must have only been able to master Air-Bending. They would have fled when the Fire-Nation army attacked. They would have found themselves in the South-Pole and surrounded. It’s likely they entered the Avatar-State, put themselves in stasis, and were released the day before, which explained the light.

The Avatar groaned, opening their eyes. Zuko raised his eyebrow. Lin smirked.

“Sleep well?” The Avatar looked away. Zuko sighed and signed his question to Lin, who repeated it aloud “What are your pronouns?” The Avatar’s head whipped up, a surprised expression on their face. 

Zuko growled, and spoke the next thing out loud. “If I am to deliver you to Father, I must refer to you correctly. I understand that the Air-Nomads did not have the same concept of gender as other Nations.” The Avatar grinned, not flinching at Zuko’s voice.

“He/him. And you?”

Zuko growled, gestured for Lin to answer. It was common courtesy after all.

She pointed to Zuko, “he/him,” then herself, “she/her.” He gave her a look for including herself. “What? I’m a person. What’re you gonna do? Take my gender away?”

The Avatar giggled, but stopped when Zuko’s gaze turned to him. They stared at each other in silence before the Avatar said something softly. Zuko didn’t hear him, so he snapped at the boy.

“What?” 

The Avatar flinched before repeating himself. Louder this time.

“Where did you get your scar?” Zuko narrowed his eyes. The boy had asked a question. He had been taught to always answer when he was asked something. However, the Avatar had no right to know of his disgrace, so he signed something for Lin to relay that was not quite right, but not untrue.

“Those banished from the Fire-Nation carry a mark given to them by the Fire-Lord.” He continued before the Avatar had a chance to speak. “My Prince will not tell you what he was banished for, only that if he is to give you to Fire-Lord Ozai, he will be welcomed home with honour.”

Zuko had grown tired of speaking with the Avatar. He had gotten what he wanted, and it was unlikely the boy would escape. He walked out the door, slamming it behind him and Lin. He ordered Naloh to stay where she was and keep guard, and Lin to do whatever it was she did, before heading to his quarters.

When he got there, he replaced his armour with his casual clothes and lay on his bed, thinking.

Finally. He could go home. He could be with Mai, Ty-Lee and Azula. He could feed the turtle-ducks and play with the wolf-cats. He could sleep in his own bed. He could finally get off the water. In only a few days, he would regain everything he lost.

He dozed off at some point, awakening to the sound of his door opening. Someone whispered something and Zuko sat up rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

The Avatar was in Zuko’s room, taking his staff off the wall. The boy turned around, freezing when he noticed Zuko there. Immediately, all drowsiness left him and he lunged off the bed.

The Avatar just managed to avoid him, slipping out the door. Zuko chased him down the hallway, but with his glider and his Air-Bending, the Avatar remained ahead of him.

He caught up to the Avatar just as the boy jumped, spreading his glider to fly. Zuko jumped after him, managing to grab the boy and pull him down. The two landed on the deck, Zuko landed on his feet and the Avatar used his Bending to soften his fall.

Zuko heard a roar and spread his awareness to sense the Avatar’s flying bison, with the Water-Tribe children on its back. The Avatar cheered, Zuko used his distraction to blast a ball of fire at him. The boy was taken off guard and the blast sent him over the rails and into the water.

It wasn’t ideal, but it would slow the Avatar down while Zuko dealt with the bison. He aimed at the creature. Suddenly, an enormous waterspout shadowed the ship. The Avatar jumped out of it, his inner flame like nothing Zuko had ever sensed. 

With a wave of his hands, the Avatar sent the spout in the direction of the deck. When the wave hit, it knocked Zuko off the ship and into the water. Thankfully, no one else had been on the deck at the time, and Zuko couldn’t freeze or drown, so there was nothing to really worry about.

He swam around the ship, feeling for somewhere to climb. Heat worked differently under water. He could barely see. After circling it once, Zuko gave up and, with all his strength, sent large blasts of flame out of his hands. He used the heat to jump out of the water, the wind swirling around him. Luckily, he had jumped just in time for the wind to change and help strengthen his flames and carry him up. He managed to get his hand on the railing, and lifted himself onto the deck.

He gained his bearings, and sensed the Avatar on top of the bison. He growled at Uncle and the crewmembers who had come outside while he was in the water.

“Shoot them down!” Together, he and Uncle created a fire blast, sending it at the Avatar. The Avatar created a massive gust of wind, sending the fire into the glacier above the ship.

The glacier collapsed, burying the bow of the ship in ice and snow. Uncle said something to his left that he didn’t catch. He screamed in anger. Pulling at the cloth that had miraculously continued to completely hide his hair throughout the entire fight.

“Dig the ship out and follow them!” Zuko turned fully to see Mira, Inusa and Ezuki trapped in ice. Naloh and Asuk were using their Bending to melt it, Naloh sporting several bruises that could have only come from being thrown into a wall.  “After you finish doing that.”


	7. The Southern Air-Temple

Sokka was dreaming. He knew that much. He was in a familiar place that he didn’t recognise. A clearing in the middle of a forest, everything bathed in an odd light. He was watching over dozens of creatures, he had never seen them before but he knew all of them by name. 

There was someone next to him. Sokka couldn’t turn his head to look at the figure, but he knew who they were. His other half. Surya’s incarnation. The two of them were kneeling on the same boulder, their hands intertwined. 

Sokka could feel the pleasant warmth radiating from the other person. He knew he had felt it before, in the waking world, but he just couldn’t place where.

Before he could speak, a voice echoed through the clearing.

“Sokka! There’s a snake in your sleeping bag!”

Sokka jumped awake, struggling to get out of his sleeping bag. He stopped when he heard Aang and Katara laughing. He looked inside his sleeping bag, realising there wasn’t any snake and gave them both a foul look.

Aang at least had the decency to look apologetic, smiling sheepishly as he spoke.

“You’re up now. Let’s go.”

-

As they stepped onto the harbour, Zuko felt the dread rise within him. The Fire-Nation didn’t see his scar as something threatening. They saw it for what it was, a mark of dishonour, and they treated him with the disdain such a mark called for.

He had sensed a flame that felt suspiciously like Zhao, which made the entire experience worse. Zhao was a bastard on the best of days (Lin had taught him that word, along with several others, and he had promised to never use them where Uncle could hear) and this didn’t feel like a best-of-days situation.

Without meaning to, Zuko’s mind wandered back to the Water-Tribe boy. There had been something different about him. Much different than just being from another Nation. As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted to meet that boy again, even if it was in battle.

He patted Uncle’s shoulder to get his attention.

“Uncle we need to get this done fast. I don’t want to lose his trail.”

“The Avatar’s?”

Zuko hit him lightly.

“Quiet Uncle. No one can know he’s alive.” Before Uncle could respond, a new voice entered the conversation.

“You’re waving your hands an awful lot. Did something interesting happen?”

Zhao. of course he had to show up where he wasn’t wanted. Zuko glared at the man, privately pleased by his slight flinch at the sight of Zuko’s face. Uncle, ever the civil one, noticed Zuko’s discomfort, stepped slightly in front of him, and spoke.

“Captain Zhao.”

Zhao did something with his face that Zuko could just identify as a smirk. 

“Commander Zhao. What brings you to my harbour?” because of course it was his harbour. Why would things ever go the way Zuko wanted them to?

“Our ship is being repaired.”

“Oh?” Zuko almost cringed at the glee in the man’s voice. “What happened.”

Zuko gave Uncle a look that he hoped meant ‘come up with a convincing lie’. Uncle spluttered.

“It was incredible. I think we crashed...” Zuko gestured for him to continue, fighting the urge to roll his eyes (as much as he could) like he had seen Azula do when someone was being particularly stupid. “...Into an Earth-Kingdom ship.” Earth-Kingdom ships didn’t cause ice damage, Uncle.

Zhao moved his face again, and this time Zuko was close enough to make out the unpleasant smile on the man’s lips and the slight glint in his eye.

“You must tell me about it. Come, have a drink with me.”

Zuko shook his head firmly. Being alone with Zhao never leads to anything good. He sensed Zhao’s posture change and his inner flame turned irritated. Before he could say anything, Uncle stepped in.

“We would be honoured to join you. Do you have any Ginseng tea? It’s my favourite.” Uncle was officially his least favourite relative. You just didn’t make your nephew do something he didn’t want to.

Zuko huffed, flame spilling from his mouth and hands. The wind swirled around his feet and Uncle’s inner flame became curious, and slightly worried. Zuko ignored it and followed Zhao.

-

Sokka was hungry. He didn’t need to eat as much as other humans, but he still got hungry. And he was  _ really  _ hungry.

The food packs were empty. He had checked at least three times. Maybe fourth time's the charm, but Sokka felt like that wasn’t the case. When he asked, Aang had said he used the rest of the jerky for the fire, which wasn’t ideal. The other two let him stew in his misery in silence until Katara spoke.

“Aang, about the Air-Benders…”

“Yeah?” Aang turned around to look at Katara (which he did  _ not _ do when he was talking to Sokka).

Katara hesitated. 

“Well, it’s just that no one’s seen them for almost a hundred years. The Fire-Nation killed my mother. They might have done the same to your people.”

“Maybe some survived! They couldn’t have killed  _ all _ the Air-Benders.” Aang had a point, but he was forgetting that it was possible for the practice to die out after they went into hiding, or for the Fire-Nation to hunt the rest of them down over the last hundred years. The survivors also wouldn’t have gone back to the places they were attacked at in the first place.

Just as Sokka was about to mention that, Aang jumped up to Appa’s snout. He pointed to something in the fog, speaking too fast to understand. After a moment, Sokka realised it was the temple.

Aang turned to them, a bright grin on his face. Sokka and Katara smiled back.

-

Zuko, Uncle and Zhoa sat in Zhao’s conference room. Zhao was bragging about something. Zuko had learned not to pay attention to him, Uncle would remember anything important. He started paying attention once Zhao mentioned Father.

“The Fire-Lord will certainly be pleased. At this rate, the Earth-Kingdom and Northern Water-Tribe will fall before the year ends.”

Zuko shook his head. He had witnessed the Earth-Kingdom armies. They were far more tenacious than the Fire-Nation gave them credit for. They had stood strong for over a hundred years, and not even Uncle had managed to get past Ba Sing Se’s walls. Mira was half Earth-Kingdom, and she was one of the strongest people Zuko knew. Not strong enough to beat him, but strong enough to wrestle with the komodo-rhinos whenever they misbehave, and set them on Ezuki whenever the navigator’s flirting gets a bit too much.

He had also encountered the Northern Water-Tribe. They had attacked him. He, being thirteen at the time, had fought back. The crew weren’t very happy with him after that. Uncle had pleaded his case. The princess, for some reason, possibly because they were the same age, had given him the benefit of the doubt. In the end, Chief Arnook hadn’t killed them, and in return, Zuko had promised to never enter Northern waters again without permission from a member of the Tribe.

Zhao noticed his head shake.

“Oh, you think so? Your years at sea have clearly made you a master strategist. How is your search for the Avatar going, by the way?”

Uncle, who had wandered over to the weapons shelf, fumbled and knocked over at least three heavy things. Zuko was pretty sure they were ceremonial swords. Zhao didn’t even know how to use them. Zuko waited for Zhao’s gaze to turn back to him before shaking his head.

“Did you really expect to? He died a hundred years ago, along with all the other Air-Benders. Unless, of course, you have proof of his existence.”

Zuko shook his head again firmly. It was, of course, possible for the Avatar Spirit to skip a nation if that nation no longer existed. If Zuko didn’t know who the Avatar was, he would assume they were either a member of the water tribe, a surviving Air-Nomad (Zuko knew they existed; it was impossible to wipe out an entire Nation), the Spirit died twice and was a member of the Earth-Kingdom, or, in the worst-case scenario, they died three times and were Fire-Nation.

Zhao narrowed his eyes, and his inner flame pulsed with irritation.

“The Avatar is the only one who can defeat the Fire-Lord. If you have any loyalty left, you’ll tell me what you found.”

Zhao clearly knew Zuko had found the Avatar. ZUko didn’t know how he knew, but he did. He was trying to guilt-trip him into revealing what he knew. He was loyal to Father, not to Zhao. he was not Zuko’s superior, he had no right to demand anything from him. 

The Avatar also wasn’t the only one capable of defeating Father. He may be an incarnated Spirit, and the Fire-Nation may be the superior Nation, but there were two nations still fighting, one of which was untouched by the Fire-Nation. He shook his head again and stood up, beckoning for Uncle to follow.

Just as they exited, one of Zhao’s soldiers walked up to them. Behind the soldier, his crew were lined up in front of the Wani. Lin was swearing profusely. Mira was holding Ezuki back from attacking one of Zhao’s soldiers. Her grip on her girlfriend was loose, so Zuko had a feeling it was more for show than anything else. Luzon and Jan were both arguing over something. Inusa was gesticulating wildly at Naloh. The rest of the crew were pretending to care about what was happening in front of them. All of their inner flames (or Non-Bending equivalents) had at least a tinge of shame.

They better not have done what he thought they did.

“We interrogated the crew. They revealed they had the Avatar in custody, but he escaped.”

They did. Zuko stared at his crew disappointedly. When they noticed, they pointed to Jan and Naloh. The engineer and soldier’s inner flames flared with irritation, before being filled with embarrassment when Zuko turned his glare to them.

If he ever threw anyone overboard, those two would be the first to go.

-

Sokka was  _ hungry _ . He said as much while they were walking up the steps of the Air-Temple. Katara scolded him for disrespecting the temple but really, if the Air-Benders were still there, and knew he was Spirit-Born, they’d treat him with just as much respect as the Avatar. He was allowed to be as grouchy as he wanted.

As they neared the Temple, Aang got quieter. At the bottom of the steps, the Avatar excitedly told them everything he knew about the Southern Temple. The further up they weren't without any sign of life, the more despondent Aang grew.

They reached the Temple entrance. Everything was covered in snow and weeds. Aang sighed.

“This place used to be filled with life. Now it's all just weeds.”

Sokka tried to think of a way to cheer the boy up. Aang had talked a lot about the games he used to play. Were there any that had three or less players and didn’t use Air-Bending? 

“Can you teach me how to play airball?”

Sokka wasn’t completely sure how long they were playing for. What he did know was that he had been hit many,  _ many _ times. When he was hit the however-many-it-was-th time, the ball knocked him into an overhang.

As he rubbed head, he noticed something red and black buried in the snow. He brushed the crystals to the side, revealing a Fire-Nation helmet. He called Katara over to see what he had found. They agreed that Aang needed to know what had truly happened to his people.

Katara called Aang, but before he could see the helmet, Katara Bended a pile of snow over both Sokka and the helmet.

Sokka understood her trying to protect Aang. he was just a kid, after all. But he was also the Avatar, and the last of his kind. He had a right to know. Keeping it from him would only hurt him in the long run.

(Sokka ignored that he was essentially doing the same thing to Aang and Katara about his true heritage. As the eldest, smartest and sanest member of the group, he was entitled to some privacy)

With their game over, the two siblings followed Aang as he wandered through the Temple. Sokka grabbed Katara, pulling the two of them further back. When they were far enough away, Sokka whispered into his sister’s ear.

“There were Fire-Benders here. You can’t hide that from Aang forever.”

“Yes I can. If he finds out that everyone really  _ is _ dead, he’ll be devastated.”

“He’ll be even more devastated when he finds out the truth and realises we hid it from him. You want him to find out by being told, or by finding a corpse?”

Katara hesitated before ‘hrmf’ing and walking faster to catch up with Aang. Sokka rolled his eyes and sped up to follow her.

The three of them stopped in front of a statue of an old man. Bowing to the statue, Aang told them it was Gyatso, the monk who raised him. Katara put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

“You must miss him.” Aang smiled sadly.

“Yeah.”

Aang stayed still for a moment before his expression grew slightly distant and he started walking. Sokka and Katara followed him through the halls. Katara spoke to Aang in a hushed voice while Sokka lagged behind, looking at the paintings.

They were much different to Southern Water-Tribe painting styles, more swirls and less animals. They clearly told stories, just like Water-Tribe paintings, but Sokka couldn’t read these pictures. He got the basic gist, though.

Aang and Katata stopped in front of a large door-like structure. Sokka would have said it was a door if not for the twisting pipes and having no visible lock. Although, this was the  _ Air _ -Temple. Maybe the pipes were the lock, and they could be unlocked through Air-Bending.

Aang stepped forward and sent a blast of air through the two pipe openings. Sokka watched the air move through the pipes and spin the dials. The door opened slowly, revealing a pitch black room. Aang wandered inside, Katara next to him. Sokka hesitated, then followed.

-

Zhao stalked around the table, inner flame flickering mockingly. He stopped right in front of where Zuko was sitting.

“You let a twelve-year-old get the better of you. How awfully pathetic of you.” Zuko grit his teeth and signed stiffly. Ezuki translated for him.

“I underestimated him. It will not happen again.” Zhao’s flame flickered again, this time like he was laughing at a joke Zuko wasn’t in on.

“You’re right, it won't. Because I'm taking over the mission.”

Zuko exhaled a small plume of smoke.

“I have been hunting him for almost three years.” He researched Air-Bending, Earth-Bending and Water-Bending. He read every book (well, the crew read them  _ to _ him) on Spirits. The pull in his core had grown stronger since meeting the boy, and he could follow it right to him.

Zhao’s inner flame burst into life just before a wave of heat and light came from his fist. Ezuki stepped in front of Zuko just before the flames reached him. He held onto the back of her armour as she hissed in pain. When Zhao’s inner and outer flame had died down, Zuko switched his and Ezuki’s positions. Uncle moved to Ezuki’s side to check out the burns.

“You failed. Capturing the Avatar is far too important for a mere child. He’s mine.”

Zuko growled. Father had entrusted that mission to  _ him _ . Zuko couldn’t fail him, and Zhao couldn’t take Zuko’s mission from him.

Zhao’s inner flame puffed with arrogance and Zuko lunged at him. Before he could reach the commander, Zhao’s guarda grabbed his arms, holding him back. Uncle put a hand on his shoulder. Zhao’s flame flickered again. If he were really so strong, he would have faced Zuko himself instead of getting his guards to do it.

Zhao ordered the guards to keep him and Uncle inside. Ezuki had used Zuko’s fight to slip out of the tent and go to Aisun. Zuko could feel the headache coming on. Uncle asked for another cup of tea.

-

The three wandered through the sanctuary. Surrounding them on every side were hundreds of statues lined up in a spiral. Aang and Katara walked ahead. Sokka stopped in front of one of the statues standing on the wall. Something about it was eerily familiar.

He could just touch it with the tips of his fingers. He reached up and when he made contact, he suddenly found himself in a field. There was a forest on one side and a lake on the other. The Avatar was in front of him, dressed in red and smiling. Next to him was someone else, also dressed in red. They felt familiar. Like the person from his dream, or when he looked into Zuko’s eyes. Surya’s incarnation.

“Snap out of it!”

Sokka blinked and found himself back in the Air-Temple. He looked around to see Katara shaking Aang slightly. Sokka walked over to them. They were standing in front of a statue of someone in Fire-Nation robes. Katara spoke first.

“Who is that?”

“Avatar Roku. the Avatar before me.”

Katara said something else, but Sokka had stopped paying attention. There was something familiar about Roku. it wasn’t like the other Avatar, or even the general vibe. There was something in the shape of his face, and the curve of his eyes. Sokka had definitely seen it before, he just didn’t know where.

Aang startled at something before pulling Katara behind one of the statues. Sokka followed his lead. When he was sure he was hidden (from both the intruder and the younger kids), he pressed a palm to the floor. He had been able to sense the footprints of predators through the snow, he could probably do the same with earth.

Feeling through the earth was  _ much _ easier than feeling through snow. He could almost make out the shape of something small and thin. He leaned his head around the statue to look at the creature. A lemur.

Aang realised the same thing. Out loud. With a scream. Sokka was reminded of how hungry he was.

“Lemur!”

“Dinner!”

“No, it's going to be my pet.”

“But I’m hungry!”

While they were shouting, the lemur had been shuffling out of the room. Sokka noticed and used Aang’s distraction to leap at the lemur. It dodged, and Sokka and Aang raced to catch it. They stopped at a balcony. The lemur and Aang both jumped off the edge, leaving Sokka hungry and tired.

-

Zuko was just about to set fire to the building he and Uncle were being kept in when Zhao returned from wherever he had run off to.

“My search party is ready. Once I’m out to sea, my guards will escort you to your ship.”

Zuko glared. Without one of his crew acting as a (reliable, Uncle likes to sensor him) translator, he couldn’t say anything. Unless he spoke, and Zhao was setting him off enough for it to happen.

Zhao smirked. “What? Too afraid to say anything?”

Zuko growled. If Zhao wanted him to talk,  _ fine _ .

“The Avatar is mine!” At the sound of his voice, Zhao’s inner flame flared.

“You can’t compete with me. I have hundreds of battleships under my command. You’re just a banished Prince whose father doesn’t even want him.” sparks flew from Zuko’s mouth, and Zhao’s delight grew. “It’s true, your father never wanted you home. If he did, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no. but you are nothing more than a failure and a disgrace.”

“No!”

“You have the scar to prove it.”

Zuko lunged, escaping from the grips of the guards. Uncle barely managed to hold him back. Around them, the room started heating up, and a large wind swirled around them. Zuko looked directly into Zhao’s eyes.

“You want one too? Agni Kai. Sunset.”

Zhao’s inner flame flickered with uncertainty, before settling into arrogance again.

“Very well.”

-

Sokka followed Aang’s trail to a large tent. He was pretty sure he had seen the boy run inside. He ducked under the flaps, noticing the singed ends.

Aang was in the middle of the tent, kneeling with his head in his hands. He wasn’t that upset about Sokka eating the lemur, was he?

Then, Sokka noticed the bodies. Somewhere between ten and twenty Fire-Nation skeletons lying in the snow. Beyond them all, collapsed against a rock, was an Air-Nomad. Sokka took in the robes and the necklace hanging around its neck and realised he was staring at the body of Aang’s guardian. Gyatso, he was pretty sure.

Cautiously, he approached the boy, sending silent ‘I-told-you-so’s to Katara.

“It’ll be alright, Aang. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Apparently, that wasn’t the right thing to say, because Aang's tattoos suddenly started glowing. The wind started blowing around the two, and Sokka felt something rise within him. Rage, but not his own. Aang’s rage, and his sorrow.

Before the emotions could overwhelm him, Sokka dug his hands and feet into the ground, moving the earth to trap them in place. He screamed something to Aang, but the words left his mind at the last second.

He heard someone run inside, probably Katara. He freed one of his hands and caught her just before an especially strong gust blew her off her feet. He pulled her next to him and they both hid behind a large rock.

“What happened?”

“He found out Fire-Benders killed Gyatso.” He’d save his I-told-you-so for later.

“He must have activated the Avatar Spirit.” What genius, Katara. Sokka had thought he just ate some bad jerky. “I’m going to try to calm him down.” 

Wait, what?

-

Zuko kneeled on one side of the arena. Zhao kneeled on the other side. There weren’t even a tenth of the number of people who had been at his last Agni Kai. This time, his crew was standing behind Uncle, inner flames flickering with worry, instead of scattered around the nation. Uncle’s worry was the strongest.

“Remember the basics, and don’t be afraid to deviate from the normal fighting style.” Zuko wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but he accepted Uncle’s words with a nod.

Zuko sensed Zhao stand up behind him and followed. They turned to face each other. At this distance, Zuko couldn’t even see Zhao’s outline. Clearly, Zhao had realised because his inner flame flared with glee. Then, it changed to mild fear when Zuko’s shoulder covering fell, revealing the lightning scar branching over his entire torso and arms. Zuko used his distraction to throw the first punch.

Zhao dodged and countered with a kick. As the fight went on, Zuko sent punches and kicks of lame at Zhao. the older man blocked and redirected the hits. Zuko put more power into his fire, making it harder for Zhao to control. The two separated, moving to opposite sides of the arena. Uncle called something, but he was on Zuko’s left, and blood was pumping in his ringing ears, so he couldn’t quite make out the words.

Zhao’s punches grew stronger, and the fire started to sting as it touched Zuko’s skin. He backed away slightly to avoid the flames. He tripped on something and suddenly, he was on his knees, a flaming hand coming towards his face. Suddenly, wind erupted around him, moving in every direction. It knocked Fath-Zhao away from Zuko. when the wind died down, Zuko took the chance to aim a spinning kick at Zhao’s head, knocking him over.

Zuko stared down at Zhao, making sure his eyes were aimed directly into his. The man’s inner flame flickered in fear. Zuko pulled an arm back, and sent a blast of fire right next to Zhao’s face. Zuko could smell the burts few layers of skin he didn’t miss. Zhao’s inner flame flared in relief, then arrogance.

“I didn’t realise the Prince had such poor aim.”

“You’re lucky he didn’t aim at you, you piece of- ow!” Ezuki called from the middle of Zuko’s crew. The statement was interrupted by the sound of skin hitting skin and Ezuki groaning Mira’s name.

Zuko started to walk out of the arena. Before he could step out, he sensed Zhao moved behind him. The commander ran towards him, lighting a fire on his foot. Zuko spun and kicked his foot away, the flame went out once Zhao’s concentration was broken. 

Zuko’s crew ran to him, forming a barrier between the Prince and Zhao. Uncle stepped forward.

“This is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew has more honour than you. Thank you for the tea, it was delicious.”

Uncle started walking back to the ship, the rest of them following. Lin threw a crude gesture to Zhao’s men as they passed. Zuko considered mimicking her before remembering Uncle was next to him. He settled for looking directly into their eyes. 

When they reached the ship, Mira, Luzon, Jan and Shuzai ran aboard to make sure nothing was meddled with (Why Shuzai thought they would have messed with the kitchen, Zuko had no clue). Ezuki, Jee and Saizo went to the helm. Aisun and the assistants scattered to do their own things. Naloh and Aisuk stayed with Zuko and Uncle. 

“ Did you mean what you said in the arena?”

“Of course. Ginseng is my favourite.” Zuko smiled. Uncle’s joke wasn’t very good, but it made Zuko remember that he didn’t need to ask to know how highly Uncle thought of him. 

Just before they reached Zuko’s room, Zuko paused.

“The wind in the arena, what was it?” Uncles flame had flared in both panic and pride when it happened. Zuko wanted to know why. Uncle merely sighed.

“That is a conversation for another day, Prince Zuko.”

-

Sokka couldn’t hear what Katara was saying, but clearly it was working. The wind around Aang died down, and the boy lowered. Sokka freed his hands and feet and joined Katara once Aang’s feet touched the ground. They each caught one of Aang’s arms as the boy collapsed. Katara spoke into his ear.

“We aren’t going to let anything happen to you. We promise.”

“I’m sorry.” Sokka wasn’t completely sure what he was sorry for, but reassured him anyway.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“You were right,” Aang sniffled, “If the Fire-Benders found this temple, they found the other ones as well. I really am the last Air-bender.”

Sokka resisted the urge to tell them that that wasn’t entirely true. That there was a Spirit-Born child somewhere in the Fire-Nation. That there was one more person who could control the wind. That Aang wasn’t alone.

The three stood up. Sokka ran ahead to get Appa prepared for flight. A few minutes later, they joined him in front of Appa. Sokka heard something chittering before something heavy dropped in his arms. He looked down to see a pile of fruit, then up to see the lemur he and Aang had chased around the temple curled into Aang’s neck. The Avatar was petting it.

“Hey, little guy. You, me and Appa are all that’s left of this place. We have to stick together.” he turned to the siblings. “Katara, Sokka, say hello to the newest member of our family.”

Katara stroked the lemur’s head.

“What are you going to name him?”

Aang looked at the peaches in Sokka’s arms, then back at the lemur.

“Momo.”


	8. Warriors of Kyoshi

Zuko sat in his room, attempting to meditate in front of a wall of candles. Asuk was with him, keeping an eye on the time and making sure nothing caught fire.

No matter how much he tried to ignore it, the thought of the wind that had aided his fight kept returning. He wasn’t scared, strangely. It was more… like he was finally seeing an old friend again. It was strange.

He sensed Uncle enter the room. Without opening his eyes, he started signing.

“The only reason you should be interrupting me is either if you’ve decided to talk about that wind, or if you have news about the Avatar.”

“There is news, but you may not like it.” If Uncle had come in just to tell him they had no leads, Zuko was going to set the entire ship on fire.

“Whatever the news is, I can handle it.”

“We have no leads.” Zuko hoped Inusa wouldn’t mind the loss of her (many, many) romance novels.

The candle flames grew to reach the ceiling. Zuko stood up and stomped out of the room. Uncle and Asuk hastily followed him as he made his way to the helm. He ignored Roso’s yelling as he accidentally left small burn marks on the newly-polished floor.

When he slammed open the helm door, he felt Jee and Ezuki sigh. Uncle stepped toward the map table before Zuko could treat them to a fiery death.

“There have been multiple sightings,” he pointed to places on the map, which Zuko assumed were marked, “but he’s been impossible to track down.”

Ezuki stepped up next to them.

“He’s either a master of evasive maneuvers, or a pre-teen.”

Jee twitched at the joke. Zuko huffed and began the walk back to his room.

-

“You have no idea where you’re going, do you?”

Aang hummed from his place on Appa’s head.

“I know it’s near water.” Sokka looked over the saddle at the ocean beneath them.

“I guess we’re close then.”

He watched the water pass while Aang messed with Katara. If he could touch the water, and he knew what he was looking for, it was possible he could find it without them having to fly zigzag across the south. 

Katara was trying to sew up a pair of Sokka’s pants. He knew from experience that interrupting her (or Mum, or Gran-Gran) would lead to being soaking wet.

“Stop bugging her, airhead. A girl needs her space to do her sewing.”

“What does being a girl have to do with sewing?” Absolutely nothing, but Sokka knew an opportunity to annoy when he saw one.

“Girls are better at fixing clothes than guys, and guys are better at hunting and fighting. It’s just the natural order of things.” Katara threw the unfinished pants in Sokka’s face, which wasn’t ideal, but he had successfully managed to annoy her. “Come on, you know i can’t wear these!”

“Don’t worry, Sokka. Where we’re going, you won’t need pants.” Sokka refused to think about the implications of that statement, instead apologising to Katara and throwing her his best puppy polar-dog look. After several minutes of Sokka making increasingly high pitched whining sounds, Katara relented and resumed her sewing.

Sokka pulled his fixed pants on just before they landed. While he made sure there weren’t any holes either he or katara had missed, the other two jumped down and began unpacking things. Sokka jumped down to join them, Momo on his shoulder.

“We stopped yesterday. Shouldn’t we get a little more flyinging in before we set up camp?”

“He’s right, Aang. at this rate, we won’t get to the North Pole until spring.

“Appa’s tired,” Aang pouted. “Aren’t you, boy?” Appa didn’t react. Aang frowned and pushed his shoulder. “ _ Aren’t you, boy _ ?”

Appa exaggerated a yawn, rolling onto his back. Sokka rolled his eyes. Fine, they could stay, but only until dawn.

Aang hugged him before running down a path to the beach. Katara and Sokka followed after they heard him shout. Sokka stopped at the edge of the forest while Katara went to the edge of the water. Aang was looking out excitedly. Suddenly, a giant fish erupted from the water. Aang shouted again.

“That’s why we’re here!” he exclaimed, pointing. “The elephant-koi.”

Aang practically jumped out of his robes. He ran into the water, telling Katara to watch him. He disappeared before reappearing on the back of one of the fish (which were much bigger than Sokka originally thought). Momo jumped off Sokka’s shoulder and started playing in the sand.

Katara ran past him, yelling at Appa for eating something. Sokka kept an eye on both Aang and Momo. he was helping Momo dig a shell out of the sand when he saw a large object from the corner of his eye. He turned and saw what looked like a massive fin behind Aang. it was easily the size of the elephant-fish Aang was riding on. Whatever it belonged to must have been much bigger.

Momo looked up, saw the fin, and shrieked. The noise summoned Katara.

“What’s wrong?”

“Aang’s in trouble.”

While Katara tried to get Aang’s attention, Sokka waded into the water. He stuck a hand underneath and concentrated. There was definitely something behind Aang. Something  _ big _ . He attempted to move the water to create around the creature, but only succeeded in making a couple of waves. He needed to practice.

The whatever-it-was ate the fish Aang was riding, and the boy started running on the water. It kind of reminded Sokka of the Christianity thing one of those weird guys at the ports sometimes talked about.

Aang was coming right towards him. Sokka desperately hoped that they wouldn’t crash into each other and suddenly, he was several metres to the left, leaving Aang to crash into the sand.

When he stood up, Aang was putting on his robes. He looked between where he was and the place he had been only seconds ago. The sand was shifted, but not displaced, as if something under it had moved.

He joined Aang and Katara on the path back to Appa.

“We need to go.” Just as Sokka finished his statement, a group of people dressed in green descended from the trees. Before any of them could react, they were tied up and blindfolded. “Or we could stay.”

The people –warriors, probably- lead them in the opposite direction to Appa. Sokka felt the ground under his boots turn from twigs and leaves to rock. The earth was smoothed out, obviously meant for walking on.

The warriors tied them to something wooden. Sokka heard their footsteps fade. Once he was sure there was no one nearby, he toed of one of his boots. He pressed his now bare foot into the ground.

He was wrong. They hadn’t left. And the three weren’t in the middle of the forest, they were in the middle of a village. Several people wandered around, slowly gathering around them.

The warriors came back. the one who had been in the lead on the way stepped forward and took off the blindfolds. An old man stepped forward.

“You three kids have some explaining to do.”

The lead warrior, a girl in stylised makeup, joined the old man.

“If you don’t answer our questions, we’ll throw you in the water with the Unagi.” That must have been the creature that attacked Aang.

“It’s my fault, I’m sorry,” Aang shuffled his feet sheepishly. “I wanted to ride the elephant-koi.”

“How do we know you’re not Fire-Nation spies?” possibly because they weren’t dressed in red. Everyone seemed to be colour-coded, for some reason. “Kyoshi has stayed out of the war, and we intend to keep it that way.” Sokka felt Aang perk up at the name of the island.

“This island is named for Kyoshi? I know Kyoshi!”

“How could you possibly know her?” the old man scowled, pointing to a statue of a woman in similar makeup to the warriors.. “Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She’s been dead for centuries.” Sokka was about to say that someone could easily know  _ of _ her and be able to say they know her without having to have known her personally, but before he could, Aang spoke.

“I know her because I’m the Avatar.”

“That’s impossible,” the lead warrior said as she pulled Aang up by his robes. “The last Avatar was an Air-Bender that disappeared a hundred years ago.”

“That’s me.” Also the whole colour-code thing sort of implied that Aang was an Air-Nomad. Maybe Avatars should start wearing some of the colour from each of the nations. Though that could mean Sokka would have to dress in green as well. He did  _ not _ like green.

The old man threw out an arm.

“Throw the imposter to the Unagi!”

Katara leaned over and whispered something into Aang’s ear. Aang used his Air-Bending to jump to the top of the pole, freeing his hands. He jumped off the pole and landed on the Kyoshi statue. The village stared before the old man spoke.

“It’s true… you are the Avatar.” Aang smiled. He jumped off the statue and approached the villager, then he did the same thing he had done when he was bothering Katara. This time, his audience was awed.

-

Zuko and Uncle sat in Zuko’s personal dining room. Asuk was with them. Shik had delivered their food and was still in the room (possibly because Shuzai had told him to make sure Zuko ate the whole thing). Someone knocked on the door and Zuko turned to see Inusa step in. 

“Roso said he heard the Avatar was on Kyoshi Island.”

Zuko stood up and practically ran out of the room. Inusa followed him, reassuring him that she had already informed Saizo and Ezuki. Zuko relaxed, then remembered he had left his food with Uncle. He ran back in, snatched his plate away from Uncle’s thieving hands, and left again. He smiled when he heard Asuk and Shik laughing.

-

Sokka sat in the corner while Aang and Katara ate the food the village had provided. He had been defeated in a matter of seconds, and he couldn’t even do anything against the Unagi. He needed to do something about it. 

He was broken out of his thoughts by Aang asking his if he wanted some of the food. Katara smirked.

“He’s just mad because a bunch of girls kicked his butt.” Of course! He could ask the Kyoshi Warriors.

Instead of taking Katara’s bait, Sokka stood up and left the room. He wandered around the village, stopping a couple of times to ask for directions, before finding himself in front a a group of girls practicing katas.

They stopped when they noticed him, and the leader beckoned him inside.

“Sorry about yesterday. I didn’t know you were friends with the Avatar.” SOkka took a deep breath.

“I’m the best warrior in my village. You beat me in seconds. I want to know how you did it.” the leader raised an eyebrow.

“You want to learn Kyoshi-style fighting?”

“Yes.” the leader looked to the other girls in the room, who shared mischievous smiles. 

“Alright… On one condition.”

The girls lead him to a separate room. Sokka paused when he realsied the room was filled with dresses and makeup sets. He looked between the clothes and the grinning girls.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“...Why?”

“It’s tradition.”

Sokka sighed but accepted his fate. Half an hour later, he and the leader, Suki, were alone in the dojo. Suki was showing him the basic katas. He punched the floor after tripping on the fifth kata for the third time. Suki patted his back.

“You’re not going to master it in one day, I'm not even that good.” it should be different for Sokka. He was Spirit-Born, and Chandra’s incarnation at that, which meant he could learn things faster than regular people. Then again, maybe he already was and Suki Wasn't telling him.

It took several hours, but Sokka managed to master all the basics and get a grasp on the intermediate level. When he had tried out every Kata at least once, Suki asked him how he was so good.

He debated telling her. He hadn’t told anyone in the village, and he  _ lived _ with them. 

Suki was a leader too. And she was impartial. Telling her wouldn't hurt. 

First, he showed her his hair, and told her what it meant. Then, he told her about Surya’s incarnation and how he didn’t know if he would ever find them. She told him that if it was destiny, he would meet them.

They continued to talk until the village leader ran in.

“Fire-Benders have landed on our shores. Come quickly!”

-

Zuko adjusted his hair covering, making sure it was secure. He looked behind him to Asuk, Naloh and Mira. the three of them were ready and waiting on their komodo-rhinos. Mira hated them using the animals in battle and insisted on coming with them, even though she didn’t have any formal training.

Zuko had given up and taught her how to fight in exchange for her teaching him about animal care.

The hull opened and the four walked down the ramp onto the island. Zuko prepared himself to shout.

“Come out Avatar!” Nothing moved.

“You can’t hide from us forever!” Naloh shouted from the back of the group. Still nothing.

“Find him.”

The three nodded and spread their rhinos out. Before they could get far, the group was attacked by several people. Obviously the island’s soldiers. One jumped onto Zuko’s rhino. He punched a fireball at her, but she dodged. Zuko recognised the technique as something from the Air-Nomads. The rhino’s tail hit her as she moved, knocking her to the ground. He aimed a blast at her but the fire was put out before it could reach her.

The Water-Tribe boy. His strange inner pool-rock chi was easily recognisable. The Avatar was definitely here then.

For some odd reason, Zuko didn’t want to fight him, so instead he pulled up a wall of fire between them.

While the boy was distracted, Zuko spread his awareness to the rest of the village. There were too many unknown chi for him to get a good sense. One chi changed direction and started running towards him. Once it separated from the group, Zuko recognised it as the Avatar.

He punched fire at the boy, who dodged. He picked up something one of the warriors dropped, using it to increase his Bending’s power. The blast sent Zuko flying off his rhino and through the wall of a nearby building.

When he could stand, he ran back out, sensing the three children and a small animal getting onto the bison’s back.

He ran back to the ship, collecting Asuk, Nahol, Mira and all their komodo-rhinos on his way. He ordered Saizo to follow the Avatar. 

While they left the port, Zuko sensed the Avatar jump off the bison and onto a large serpent. He grappled with the creature, grabbing its antennae and pulling. Water gushed from the serpent's mouth, putting out the fires Zuko had forgotten about. 

When the fires were out, the Avatar jumped back onto the bison, flying away faster than the ship could accelerate.


	9. Omashu

It took a while, but they were finally at Omashu. 

They stood atop a hill, looking at the city. It was massive, the biggest community Sokka had ever seen. 

“Welcome to the Earth-Kingdom city of Omashu.” Aang's smile grew sad. “I used to always come here to visit my friend, Bumi.”

“We don’t have buildings like this in the North Pole.” If Katara looked closer, she would have seen that the three pyramids weren’t buildings, but dozens of smaller properties stacked on top of each other. It was ingenious, saving space while also fostering a close neighborhood relationship. Sokka chose not to say anything though.

“Let’s go!” Aang jumped several feet before striding forward. “The real fun’s inside the city.”

“Wait.” Katara said as she grabbed the boy’s shoulder. “We can’t have people know you're the Avatar.”

Sokka thought about it. “We can use a disguise.”

“Can i use your head-wrapping, Sokka?”

“Absolutely not.” Sokka hadn’t meant to sound so forceful, but he  _ really _ wasn’t comfortable with anyone seeing his hair. Katara understood. She knew how outsiders looked at Sokka’s hair. After she urged Aang not to push it, he left Sokka alone.

They decided on using Appa’s shed fur to disguise Aang as an old man, with Momo hidden in the ‘hair’. Aang absolutely loved the idea. As they walked across the bridge, Aang talked about his time in Omashu when he was younger.

They stopped and watched a cabbage merchant cry over his cabbages. They attempted to pass through the gate when a guard stopped them. Thankfully, Aang and Katara covered for them before the guard could get suspicious. 

As the guards opened the giant stone walls, Sokka wondered if he’d ever be able to do the same thing. The Avatar and Incarnations were the most powerful Benders in the world, after all.

They stopped on a ledge overlooking a series of winding slides. Aang explained that they were part of the Omashu Delivery System. When he was done, he excitedly brought them to the top of the city, telling them about some fun ‘other way’ to use the delivery system.

Aang hopped into one of the carts. Katara followed. Sokka felt along the edge to gauge the stability. Once he made sure it was safe for all three of them, he sat down behind Katara. 

The two in front of him talked while he felt out the ways the chutes were connected. The cart shifted slightly, then slid down the chute. Sokka held in a scream as they sped up. 

Just as Sokka started to relax, a cart of weapons slid into the chute behind them. Aang sent them flying away from it with his Bending. Unfortunately, he didn’t aim correctly and they ended up sliding across roofs.

Eventually, they made it back onto the chute. Then they immediately ran into another cart. The three of them were thrown out of the cart and onto a cabbage stand.

They guard, who had probably been chasing them since they crashed into the first roof, surrounded them. They picked the kids up and took them into the palace. Sokka would have inspected the architecture if he weren’t afraid for his life.

“Your majesty, these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, travelling under false pretences, and malicious destruction of cabbages.” It’s not vandalism if it's unintentional, so they should be arrested for property damage instead. Also, they didn’t destroy any cabbages. Those things were harder than rock.

The cabbage merchant, who Sokka hadn’t noticed following them, started yelling angrily about beheading them. Before he could finish, a couple of soldiers dragged him out, thankfully.

Sokka looked up at the king. He tapped his chin.

“Throw them… a feast.” Obviously everyone was shocked, because the room froze. Then, the soldiers hastily left to make preparations. A few minutes later, they and the king were sitting at opposite ends of a grand table.

While they ate, the king asked Aang where he was from. Not Sokka or Katara though, which was strange. Just as they stood up to go to bed, the king threw a chicken leg at Aang, who caught it with his Air-Bending.

“We’ve got an Air-Bender in our midst. And not just any Air-Bender, the Avatar.” the fact that he clearly already knew this was unsettling. Maybe it was the yellow clothes. Someone was bound to notice them eventually.

Aang scrambled for an excuse, tripping over his words and his feet. He grabbed Sokka and Katara and made for the exit when the guards blocked them.

Katara protested to the king, who ignored her. He finished eating, then spoke.

“Tomorrow, the Avatar will face three deadly challenges. But for now, the guards will show you to your chamber.”

Sokka inspected the king while he argued with the guard about which chamber. He was clearly smarter than he let on. There must have been a reason for giving Aang the challenges. 

The soldiers took them down the hall and to a room on the highest floor. They pushed the three into the room and Earth-Bended the doors closed. Katara and Aang immediately started on an escape plan. While they talked, Sokka inspected the door. Once he knew where the movable slab was, and Aang and Katara were busy stuffing Momo in a vent, he pressed his hands against it, trying to open it. The door shook, but didn’t open.

After the third failed attempt to Earth-Bend, Sokka sat on one of the beds and watched Aang and Katara pull Momo out of the vents. When the lemur was free, Katara and Aang collapsed on the other two beds.

Sokka waited until the other two were asleep, then got up and tried to open the door again. When he was unsuccessful, he kicked it, leaving a foot-shaped dent in the rock. At least he could do that. Hopefully, Aang and Katara wouldn’t notice.

He wasn’t sure how long he was asleep, but it definitely wasn’t long enough (not needing sleep didn’t mean you couldn’t enjoy it). At some point, the guards had come in, woken him and Katara up, and dragged them out of the room.

Several hours later, the wall opened and the guards slipped a ring on their fingers. The king explained what they were made of and how they worked. Meaning Sokka and Katara were the ultimatum.

As they watched Aang complete the challenges, Sokka thought more about them. There was clearly a reason behind them. Waterfall, rabbit, battle. Water, earth, fire! The king wanted to know if Aang had learned the other elements yet.

The king won the battle, but offered one last way to free Sokka and Katara. He wanted Aang to say his name. After he left, Aang talked to them.

“How am I supposed to figure out his name?”

“Maybe you already know it. He certainly looks old enough to have been alive a hundred years ago.” Aang’s face scrunched in thought, then his eyes widened in realisation. He ran to the throne room, Sokka and Katara following as fast as they could.

They entered the room to hear the tail end of what Aang was saying.

“Bumi, you’re a mad genius.” Aang and the king (who was Aang’s friend Bumi?) laughed together. Bumi released the rock holding Sokka and Katara. Once Sokka was sure all of his limbs were working, he walked up to Bumi.

“Why did you do all this instead of just telling Aang who you were?”

“First of all, it’s pretty fun messing with people,” that explained the crazy act, “but i do have a reason.” He turned to Aang. “You have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in a hundred years. It’s your duty to restore balance by defeating Fire-lord Ozai. you must master the four elements, find the Incarnations, and confront the Fire-Lord.”

Aang frowned. “Who are the Incarnations?”

“There are two. The children of two of the first Spirits. They are born every time the world has fallen into such imbalance that it can’t fix itself. The incarnation of Surya is the strongest human in the world, and they can control both air and fire. The incarnation of Chandra is the smartest human in the world, and they can control both water and earth.”

“Why didn’t I know about this?”

“And how do  _ you _ know?” Sokka asked in exaggerated suspicion. 

“You probably don’t know because the monks didn’t think the Incarnations would be summoned.  _ I _ know because when I was studying Earth-Bending, Chandra’s Incarnations were mentioned and I decided to do some digging. When Chandra’s incarnation was born, I felt it through the Earth. Ever since that day, I've been awaiting your return, Aang.”

-

Zuko and Uncle sat facing each other in Zuko’s study room. Usually, it was just Zuko, Lin and Asuk using them when Asuk was teaching them. Sometimes, Zuko had caught Ezuki and Mira making out, then Saizo and Shuzai, about to make out. Having The Talk with Uncle afterwards had scarred him more than the kissing.

“Tell me what happened when the air moved.” Uncle didn’t answer immediately, which meant he was trying to figure out how to say it in a way Zuko would understand.

“When you were born, your hair and eyes glowed. When you ran, your feet didn’t touch the ground. When you cried, gusts of wind blew around you.” So he Air-Bended?

“How could I have Air-Bended when I am a Fire-Bender?”

“I’m not sure.” Uncle sighed. “But I have a theory. There is an old legend, one that is no longer taught. When the world falls into imbalance, the Spirits Chandra and Surya will possess two humans. Those humans are unlike any other. Chandra’s Incarnation is the smartest human, and they hold the ability to control water and earth. Surya’s Incarnation is the strongest human, and they can control both fire and air. I believe you are the latter.”

He couldn’t be. Surya was Agni’s parent. It was one of the Great Spirits. It couldn’t possibly be living inside him. Plus…

“If I am meant to be the best fighter, why have I always failed my lessons?”

“The way the Spirits move the elements is different to that of humans. They do more than Bend, they embody, befriend and Control the elements.” So he always failed because his teachers were wrong? He wondered if Chandra’s Incarnation had the same problems.

“Will Water-Earth’s Incarnation help me capture the Avatar?”

“They will help you achieve your destiny, and you will help them achieve theirs.” Uncle wasn’t telling him something. Zuko knew he wouldn’t get anything out of him, so he switched the subject.

“Can you teach me Air-Control?” Uncle had studied the Air-Nomads with Zuko, but he had focused more on the culture than Zuko had.

Uncle hummed. “I can try, but you must not use it when fighting. The Air-Nomads were peaceful, and to use their techniques in battle would be disrespectful.”


End file.
